Sensitivity analysis of impact loads by CFD solvers for structural FEM computation on ship structures

A numerical study is proposed to highlight the sensitivity of the structural response with respect to the fluid pressures derived by a fluid dynamics analysis. The fluid characteristics are computed by using two Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods, namely a Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (URANSE) method and a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) solver. Based on the CFD results, the structure response is calculated by means of a Finite Element Method (FEM). Different levels of accuracy are explored in the CFD computations, i.e. varying the mesh and particle resolutions for the URANSE and the SPH, respectively. The study is performed on a selected test case, namely a reinforced wedge-like section falling into the water. Results are discussed in the light both of the comparison between the two CFD methods and in terms of global and local structural properties.