Hydrodynamic Analysis of Amphibious Aircraft Stability during Water Taxiing

When an amphibious aircraft is taxiing on a wavy water surface, the force of the water directly concentrates on the floats, directly affecting the stability of the aircraft’s taxiing process. The vortices generated by the wave undulations exert significant hydrodynamic forces on the floats, thus impacting the stability and maneuverability of the float’s taxiing process. This study uses CFD numerical simulation to simulate the float’s taxiing process on a wavy water surface. By comparing the pressure distribution and vortex contours of the float under different wave height parameters, the effect of wave height on the hydrodynamic mechanism can be elucidated. The results show that the effect of wave height on aircraft stability is closely related to the position of the impact point when the wave crest hits. At a wave height of 0.5 meters, if the impact point is close to the center of gravity, it can lead to instability of the aircraft. These conclusions provide an important theoretical basis for the design and optimization of amphibious aircraft floats.