Non-dimensional analysis of cylindrical objects freely dropped into water in two dimensions (2D)

Yi Zhen, Xiaochuan Yu, Haozhan Meng and Linxiong Li

Abstract

The dropped objects are identified as one of the top ten causes of fatalities and serious injuries in the oil and gas industry. It is of importance to understand dynamics of dropped objects under water to accurately predict the motion of dropped objects and protect the underwater structures and facilities from being damaged. In this paper, we study non-dimensionalization of two-dimensional (2D) theory for dropped cylindrical objects. Non-dimensionalization helps to reduce the number of free parameters, identify the relative size of effects of force and moments, and gain a deeper insight of the essential nature of dynamics of dropped cylindrical objects under water. The resulting simulations of dimensionless trajectory confirms that drop angle, trailing edge and drag coefficient have the significant effects on dynamics of trajectories and landing location of dropped cylindrical objects under water.

Key Words

non-dimensionalization; dropped cylindrical objects; slender body; trailing edge; offshore engineering

Address

Yi Zhen: Natural Sciences Department, Southern University at New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA; Mathematics Department, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA Xiaochuan Yu: School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA Haozhan Meng: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA Linxiong Li: Mathematics Department, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA

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