Numerical Simulation of Helicopter Ditching on Wavy Water

摘要

The present study explored the ditching characteristics of a three-dimensional helicopter model on wavy water, where the effects of water-entry wave positions, including crest, falling, rising and trough wave were assessed by means of numerical simulation. The air-water two phase flow is computed by solving unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations enclosed by standard k-omega turbulence model. The volume of fluid model is applied for the sake of capturing the air-water interface. The relative motion between the helicopter and water is treated by a global moving mesh method. Results show the effects of wave positions and initial pitching angles on the ditching event in detail. It is observed that crest and falling wave are the optimal choices when the helicopter makes a ditching event on wavy water. Furthermore, an optimal pitching angle at 6 deg is obtained for the helicopter ditching case in this paper.