Study of Stability on Water for a Special Amphibious Autovehicle

As the automotive industry is in continuos change, moving from a mechanical to a software-intensive industry, an essential part of the development and research process is represented by the computerized modelling and simulation since, this mechanism, provides prediction on how a vehicle will behave in real life situations. For studying and experimentally testing special purpose amphibious vehicles, it is preferable to use software programs, in order to reduce costs and to have a proper look on how a vehicle will work in reality and to avoid the risks of carrying out tests in open water. The scientific aim of this paper is to study the stability of an amphibious vehicle with special purpose through the means of computer-aided-design (CAD) applications software. First of all, a lot of measurement had to be done in order to design 2D sketches, which eventually, will lead to a 3D model of a chosen amphibious vehicle with special purpose, which resembles the one used in reality. Then, in order to study stability, the model was imported to a naval-friendly software and the curves of stability were obtained. In addition, the flooding points of the amphibious vehicle were set. Furthermore, different loading cases were taken into consideration for an equilibrium analysis. Lastly, the process of water entry/exit of the amphibious vehicle was studied using Bonjean Scale.