Experimental and numerical study of wet-deck slamming characteristic for a trimaran in regular head waves.

• The significant negative pressure occurred at the front of the wet deck. • The wet-deck slamming is more severe under the short-wave condition. • The slamming behaviour is more severe at the front part of the wet deck. • The water-entry of the main hull causes the wet-deck slamming pressure near the outrigger larger than that of the main hull. Wet deck may suffer from strong slamming effects when sailing under severe sea conditions, which could damage it locally and compromise the structural integrity of trimarans. The wet-deck slamming characteristic for trimaran sailing in head waves is studied in this work using both experimental and numerical simulation methods. We found that the negative pressure occurred at the front of the wet deck, which is caused by the wet deck exit from the wave crest. Regarding the spatial distribution in longitudinal, the slamming behaviour is more severe at the front part of the wet deck, as the relative vertical impact velocity decreased from the front to the back part of it. Simultaneously, the wet-deck slamming is more severe under the short-wave condition. Regarding the spatial distribution in lateral, we found that the water-entry of the main hull could cause the wet-deck slamming pressure near the outrigger larger than that of the main hull. Moreover, the wet deck has been divided into three regions according to their different lateral distribution characteristics of the wet-deck slamming. These results can provide a better understanding of the wet-deck slamming characteristics when trimaran sailing in waves, which can be considered in future designs for the trimaran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]