Study on the wedge penetrating fluid interfaces characterized by different density-ratios: Numerical investigations with a multi-phase SPH model

Bodies penetrating fluid interfaces is a classical issue that has been considerably investigated, especially for water entry problems, because of its relevance to slamming phenomena in ocean and coastal engineering. This paper is dedicated to investigating the water entry problems of a wedge characterized by different density-ratios using multi-phase Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations. The SPH model is combined with an Adaptive Particle Refinement (APR) incorporating with a phase-switch correction to improve the numerical accuracy and computational efficiency of simulations. Firstly, an SPH simulation for a classical water entry process of a wedge is employed as a benchmark to validate the accuracy and stability of the utilized SPH model. Subsequently, the mechanisms of the spatiotemporal cavity behaviors for different density-ratios are simulated and discussed in detail. It is demonstrated that the cavity evolutions during penetrating and motion characteristics of the wedge are significantly affected by density-ratios. It is also suggested that the presented multi-phase SPH model with APR can be treated as a reliable numerical tool for solving such problems in terms of complex fluid interfaces behind moving structures. •A multi-phase SPH model with APR is applied for simulating water entry problems.•Numerical results show good agreement with experimental data.•Cavity dynamics and wedge motion characteristics are significantly affected by density-ratios.