Moving Path Analysis of a Cannonball Colliding onto Water

When a cannonball collides onto water, it can ricochet several times because normal force is generated larger than the weight. In order to determine the moving path, an analysis is done to calculate the position and velocity of the cannonball and the force acting on the cannonball using a finite element method. It is shown that the cannonball motion depends on the initial conditions such as cannonball shape, firing velocity, and firing angle.