Hydroelastic analysis of interaction between water waves and a floating laminated disk

This paper studies the interaction between water waves and a very large floating laminated disk in water of finite depth. The disk is a composite structure consisting of two surface sheets and a middle low-density elastic core layer. Based on the linear potential flow theory, an analytical solution of the hydroelastic problem is developed using the eigenfunction expansion method for the velocity potential of fluid motion. In the solution procedure, the laminated disk is regarded as double circular Euler sheets connected by a series of closely spaced and mutually independent vertical springs, and then an eighth-order differential equation of motion of the laminated disk is derived as the elastic boundary condition of the hydroelastic problem. An approximated model is then developed for the hydroelastic problem in shallow water. The deflection and bending moment of the disk and the free surface elevation near the disk are calculated, and it is found that the series solution for the velocity potential converges rapidly. Typical examples are presented to show the effects of different parameters, including wave frequency, the edge conditions of the disk, and the elastic coefficient of the core layer, on wave force, structural hydroelastic response, and wave field. Moreover, viscoelastic damping is introduced in the core layer, and its effect on the hydroelastic response is evaluated by adopting the complex stiffness method. The results indicate that the wave force on the laminated disk is larger than that on a corresponding rigid one over a very wide range of wave frequencies, and the local deformation of the lower sheet can be suppressed by designing a core layer with viscoelastic damping.