Lifeboat

The video shows the impact of a lifeboat from a height of 15m into the free water surface simulated with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

This type of lifeboat, a so-called free-fall lifeboat, is mainly used on large container ships and oil platforms to quickly evacuate the sailors in a case of emergency. It is placed on a slide from which it is released and freely falls, often from great heights, into the water. The boat is closed and the persons are buckled into their seats to withstand the impact. It enters the water, submerges and stays underneath the surface for several seconds. For stability reasons and to provide maximum safety for the passengers it is extremely important to know the forces on the hull due to the impact. Furthermore, it is beneficial for a successful rescue, that the boat has covered the maximum distance from the impact area before its own propulsion engages.

The application of numerical methods in marine hydrodynamics, i.e CFD,  allows for cost and time effective design optimisation of hull shapes and their mass distribution for various launching conditions, i.e. heights, impact angles and sea states.