Boating through choppy waters can soon become a less physically exhausting experience as researchers are developing the science behind improved watercraft design.In a study published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, the researchers demonstrated the unique differences in how water interacts with rigid and elastic bodies.<\/p>\n
\u201cRigid and elastic materials interact with the water surface quite differently,\u201d said Randy Hurd, a PhD candidate at Utah State University in the US and lead author of the study.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen an elastic body impacts the surface, the material deforms and oscillates significantly which changes the water-impact physics compared to a rigid body,\u201d Hurd said.<\/p>\n
Hurd\u2019s team used high-speed cameras to record elastomeric spheres dropping into a tank of water.<\/p>\n
At 2,000 frames per second, the footage revealed the unique splash curtains and air-filled cavities that form after impact.<\/p>\n
The group used the images to track the position and deformation of the elastic spheres to understand how energy transfers from the water to the material.<\/p>\n
By analysing the results, the team was able to predict the water interaction behaviour based on the type of soft material and its speed.<\/p>\n
The study could be an important step towards the design of an inflatable speedboat that absorbs wave energy and provides a smoother ride for passengers.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to predict water interaction from a materials perspective is an important first step in understanding which material types would be best for developing an inflatable watercraft capable of providing a smoother ride over a choppy surface,\u201d Hurd said.<\/p>\n
The findings are particularly useful to the US Navy and other agencies that deploy watercraft in rough seas.<\/p>\n
IANS<\/strong><\/p>\n Picture courtesy: Alamy Image<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Boating through choppy waters can soon become a less physically exhausting experience as researchers are developing the science behind improved watercraft design.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[31,91],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4556"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4558,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4556\/revisions\/4558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}