Fluid-Structure Interactions response of a composite hydrofoil modelled with 1D beam finite elements

In this paper, the hydroelastic response of a NACA0015 composite hydrofoil is studied experimentally and numerically. The foil is made of composite materials with fibers not aligned with the span of the foil, which results into the apparition of a bend-twist coupling in the material. Computations are performed using a partitioned approach. The flow problem is solved using a boundary element method (BEM). The structural response of the foil is modelled with two different finite element models. In the first one, the foil is modelled with 2D shell and 3D solid finite elements and in the second model, the foil is modelled with 1D beam finite elements. The experiments are conducted in an open circulation water channel. Hydrodynamic forces and structural displacements are measured for several angles of attack, free stream velocities and submergence depth. This paper shows that the mechanical behaviour of a composite hydrofoil submitted to hydrodynamic loads can be modelled with 1D beam finite elements. This model gives results very similar to a finite element analysis realized with 2D shell and 3D solid finite elements, which are commonly used to model composite structures. The present work also shows that the experimental results can be well predicted by numerical simulations, but it requires a precise modelization of the bend-twist coupling in the materials constituting the foil