Hybrid analytic-FEM approach for dynamic response analysis of air-cushion vehicle skirts

Focused on the assessment method for dynamic behavior of the skirts of an air cushion vehicle (ACV), this paper proposes a hybrid analytic-FEM approach, within which the self-developed subroutine considers the transient skirt-water contacting force through suggested semi-analytical formula based on the empirical results from CFD simulations of the equivalent flat-plate model. The dynamic explicit algorithm of FEM is adopted to solve the large deformation problem of flexible skirts. The validity of the approach has been confirmed by comparing with previous numerical results as well as published experimental results of steady seal deformation tests at University of Michigan. Afterward, more simulations for demonstration cases are carried out to study the complex dynamic response of the skirts under different skirt-water contacting conditions. The proposed method can obtain more reliable results than traditional analytical method and be more efficient than fluid-structure interaction simulations, thus providing a practical balanced approach aiming at the dynamic response analysis for whole skirts and contributing to the skirts dynamics performance assessment of an ACV.