LARGE HOVERBARGE AIR CUSHION SIMULATION

摘要

The behaviour of a hoverbarge, on its air cushion on water, is governed by a complex interaction between the lift fans,rnthe escape of air from the barge skirt, the volume of air in the cushion (including air compressibility), and the behaviourrnof the water surface beneath cushion. This paper presents an attempt to simulate hoverbarge behaviour with these factorsrnincorporated. While practical experience and simple methods have proved adequate for the hover barges currentlyrnoperating, there are proposals for very much larger barges operating in semi open sea locations (the NE Caspian) wherernprevious experience may not be applicable. In designing such a hoverbarge, there will be a requirement for example tornevaluate the skirt height for which no previous experience is applicable. A simulation, which can be extended to largerrnhoverbarges, may be of use.rnTechniques required include the evaluation of the wave train generated by the moving pressure cushion over water andrnthe ability to model the transition to land when driving up a ramp.