Structural Analysis of the Bottom Plate of Small WIG Craft

A WIG(Wing-In-Ground effect) craft flies close to the water surface by utilizing a cushion of relatively high pressurized air between its wing and water surface. This implies that when one designs such craft it is important to have lightweight structures with adequate strength to resist external loads with some margins. To investigate this requirement, this paper deals with the structural analysis of the bottom plate of small WIG craft having a design landing weight of 1.2-ton. As building materials for the WIG craft, pre-preg carbon/epoxy composites are considered. The strength information of the bottom plate is obtained using the first-ply-failure analysis in conjunction with a mid-plane symmetric laminated plate theory. As a result, the first-ply-failure location, load and deflection of the bottom plate are obtained. The calculated strength information is compared with the water reaction load for the bottom plate of seaplanes considered when they land on the water surface –the same fluid-structure interaction mechanism as that of WIG craft. In the calculation of seaplane water reaction load information, the rules shown in FAR(Federal Aviation Regulations) Part 25 are used. Through the comparison, the structural integrity of the bottom plate for the WIG craft is checked