On the Exploration of the Influence of Seabed Reflected Waves on Naval Structures

The interaction between naval structures and underwater shock waves generated by explosions is critical in marine engineering. Numerical analysis is pivotal in investigating the effects of reflected waves from the free surface and the seabed on submerged or floating structures. This topic still needs to be explored in the marine engineering literature despite its significance. Understanding the complex dynamics of shock wave reflections is paramount for ensuring marine installations’ structural integrity and safety, including submarines, offshore platforms, and surface vessels. This paper aims to fill this gap by presenting a preliminary numerical study focused on analyzing the influence of reflected waves caused by the seabed on a simple ship-like structure, where the free-surface effects are negligible. A Coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian approach based on the suite MSC Dytran was used to investigate the interaction between shock waves and the seabed, considering a structure represented by an underwater cylinder and several seabed compositions. A deeper understanding of this phenomenon is crucial for enhancing the resilience and safety of marine installations, thereby mitigating potential risks and ensuring sustainable maritime operations. The simulations presented in this work represent the starting point for the creation of datasets to be used in Machine Learning applications.