February 8, 2021: Numerical tools for simulation of amphibious vehicles in the surf zone

February 8, 2021
4:00 p.m.
For Zoom credentials, please email cloan@vt.edu
Dr. Pablo Carrica, University of Iowa
Faculty Host: Stefano Brizzolara

Abstract: Amphibious vehicles have increasing application in industry, defense, search and rescue, recreation, and coastal research.  The common functions of amphibians and the weight associated with two propulsion systems dictate that such multi-mode craft are often heavy vehicles that operate like traditional displacement vessels. A small subset of amphibians operate as planing craft, though the size and mass of these vehicles remain large compared to conventional planing craft. Particularly risky for the vehicles are launch and landing and surf zone loitering operations. High-fidelity simulations of launching, surf zone operation and landing are complex and require a variety of capabilities for the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and the Multibody Dynamics solvers needed to perform the computations. This presentation discusses development and validation of numerical tools geared toward simulation of amphibious vehicles operating in land and water in the surf zone.

Bio: Pablo M. Carrica is a Mechanical Engineering Professor at The University of Iowa. He has been working on CFD for over 30 years, with current interests in naval hydrodynamics, bubbly and cavitating flows, and simulation of motions and dynamics of marine vehicles.