Transient Motion of Floating Bodies: Application to the Computation of the Hydrodynamic Load Exerted on Ships in Collisions; A Review

摘要

The review outlines the traditional methods used in the study of the motion of bodies piercing the free surface under simplifying assumptions of linearization. The equivalence, in this context, between the problems of small oscillations and transient motion of floating bodies will be shown. An application of linear theory to the transient motion of ships will be presented, with a special emphasis on the problem of collision involving ships. Whereas linear system theory is a well developed body of knowledge, the application of which is relatively straightforward, the severe limitations of linear models are now recognized in many situations involving ocean structures and freely floating bodies. Several important aspects of the collision problem, not accounted for by linear theory, will be examined. Some mathematical techniques available to predict nonlinear effects due to the presence of a free surface and their applications for the study of collision will be reviewed. The general features of numerical methods available to solve the linear as well as the complete nonlinear problem and the difficulties associated with their implementation will be presented.