An experimental investigation into whole body vibration generated during the hydroelastic slamming of a high speed craft

Abstract

High-Speed planing Craft (HSC) expose their crew to levels of vibration that regularly exceed the daily exposure limit set out by European directive 2002/44/EU. The human exposure to vibration can cause many effects, from chronic and acute, to physiological and psychological. Many reduction methods are currently being researched, such as suspension seats, but Coats et al. (2003) and Coe et al. (2013) concluded that a combination of methods will be required to reduce the level sufficiently to meet the legislation. The highest levels of acceleration occur during the slamming of HSC.

This paper describes an experimental investigation to determine whether hydroelasticity can affect the slamming characteristics and Whole Body Vibration (WBV) of a HSC using quasi-2D and full-scale drop tests. The quasi-2D drop tests revealed that hydroelasticity can affect the peak acceleration and Vibration Dosage Value (VDV), and that a wooden hull generated higher magnitude WBV than fabric hulls. The full-scale drop tests were performed on a RNLI D-class inflatable lifeboat. Hydroelasticity was controlled using the internal pressures of the sponson and keel. The full-scale results show that the peak acceleration and VDV can be reduced by decreasing the internal pressures and structural stiffness at the transom and crew locations; however, this lead to an increase at the bow. This indicates that the WBV experienced by the crew can be reduced by considering hydroelasticity. Incorporating an element of hydroelasticity shows great potential, alongside other reduction strategies, to alleviate the human exposure to vibration on board HSC.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Philip A. Wilson: orcid.org/0000-0002-6939-682X

ORCID for Dominic Taunton: orcid.org/0000-0002-6865-089X

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