Engineering & Technology Research, Vol. 1 No. 1 (2017) p.

10-15

A Review on Hull Design for Amphibian Aircraft

Kamarul, A.M.,*1, Xu, Y.,2, Lewis, A.,3, Tiu, W.4
*1,2,3,4 School of Engineering and Technology, University of Hertfordshire
College Lane Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL10 9AB, United Kingdom
*1Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka,
Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100, Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia

Abstract: One of the main problems with landing on water is the lack of visual cues to help the pilot with the
glide slope. This frequently results in situations where the vertical sink velocity is relatively high by the time the
aircraft makes contact. Unlike conventional land based aircraft, an amphibian aircraft does not have hydraulic
systems to absorb this impact energy. The hull structure therefore has to be designed to withstand this loading
impact without any damage. This is especially so since amphibian aircraft are increasingly being manufactured
using composite materials where repair costs can be significant. The project aims to developing a new hull
structure with an improved impact resistance. LS-DYNA is used to investigate the structural interaction of the hull
with water. The result will be used as guidance for design optimisation. A final hull design will be developed and
the performance of the optimised design will be tested through simulation. The project would involve physical
testing of industrial composites used in aircraft industry and simulate the impact during landing to determine the
failure and its structural integrity. This would provide critical information on the optimum operating condition
during landing of an amphibian aircraft.

Keywords: Hull Design; Amphibian Aircraft; Landing; Impact Loading; Composite; LS-DYNA; Optimization.

1. Introduction
Looking at the history, developments of amphibian
aircraft can be tracked through the vision of the military
advancement of countries, which involves directly in
World War One and World War Two. The first category
of an amphibian aircraft is the floatplane, which was
fitted with pontoon-style floats. Since amphibian aircraft
were an aircraft designed to take off and land on the
surface of the water these pontoon were attached in place
of a conventional landing gear with wheels [1].
The other category of amphibian aircraft is the one
with modified lower part of the fuselage copying the
shape somewhat like a boat hull, which could float on the Fig.1 Modifications of twin engine land-based aircraft [3].
surface of water during rest or low speed. This is how the
term ‘flying boat’ arises [2]. Both classes of amphibian
aircraft, which were flourished in the world war years
then, were transformed to become the large elegant flying
boats used for intercontinental air services. The
capabilities of amphibian aircraft which combine the
speed and range are an advantage compared to
conventional aircraft due to their ability to land and
takeoff on open water. They also have the ability to
operate without a hard surface runway and additional
safety for overwater operations. Categories of amphibian
aircraft are shown clearly in Fig.1 and Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 Modifications of single engine land-based aircraft [3].

Mainly, amphibian aircraft is said to be more complex

than a normal land plane since its dual working
environment. Considering water landing, the aircraft
should be watertight and could withstand the added stress
of water impact during landing. The propeller area should
*Corresponding author: kamarulamir@utem.edu.my
2017 UTHM Publisher. All right reserved.
ocs.uthm.edu.my/uthmocr/index.php/etputhm
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 A.M. Kamarul et al., Engineering & Technology Research Vol. 1 No. 1 (2017) p. 10-15

be covered or protected against imminent water spray. total drag. It is a necessity since the drag-minimized
Furthermore, it should accommodate safe method for shape with the centre of buoyancy within a specified
boarding during water and land operation [4]. Preferably, range and a favourable hull surface to volume ratio in
the amphibian aircraft should be crafted to maximize the order to minimize the hull mass [13] and this would
usage of normal boat docking which would prevent any significantly reduce the impact force [14].
needs on other specially designed boarding/docking Furthermore, considerations should be taken on the
facilities. In addition, it should not reduce the aircraft landing procedure and speed. Normally,
aerodynamic characteristic and performance of its amphibian aircraft were designed essentially for cruising
counterpart with comparatively similar sizing. purposes. However, considerations on aerodynamic
Since the state of the water surface is always different, aspect should also be considered. It should be enough for
it is important for designers to know and understand the high lift-to-drag ratio. Meanwhile, during water approach
effect this conditions. This would provide better the aircraft touches down with main gear. This promotes
appreciation and safety during water contact. Since this downward rotation and reverse thrust is needed for the
research is a progressive dynamic loading which aircraft to stop. The landing procedures would only end
accommodates amphibian aircraft condition during and when the aircraft comes to rest. The touchdown speed
after water impact, this characteristic will also be studied. needs to be greater than the stall speed. In addition, the
Firstly, the water as fluid tries to balance and find a aircraft also tend to rotate on velocity vector which
levelling point. In zero or minimal disturbance condition, parallel to the water [15].
the water would lie flat and glassy. However, if it is However, since the amphibian aircraft porpoising
disturbed by the forces of winds, undercurrents, and stability is severe, according to Tomaszewski [16],
objects traveling on the surface, it will create waves or therefore it is necessary to design for much deeper steps
movement. In addition, because of its weight, water can for the shape of the floats based on flying-boat hull
exert a powerful force. This will produce significant drag design. The strengthening of afterbody would improve
forces as the water flows around or under the object stability. In the design of a float for good porpoising
which is moving through or on its surface. As the speed stability and seaworthiness it is convenient to consider
of a moving object on the surface of water doubled, then three conditions on the water first is at rest or at low
the forces acting on the object will be exerted speed (the displacement region), second is during
approximately at a factor of four. This is caused by the transition from displacement to planing flow (the hump
force of water acting along the entire hull or float aircraft region) and the last is planing on the forebody (the
with central pressure which constantly changing and is planing region).
dependent on the pitch attitude, dynamic hull or floats This three different water condition depends entirely
movement and wave action [5]. to the geometry of forebody, afterbody, step and location
Second, the balancing through lower hull drag, at a of floats relative to the amphibian aircraft [17]. Therefore,
given deadrise angle of a concave (or flared) hull, and the absorber design should also consider all the criteria
desirable spray characteristics (which favour lower dead explained in order to achieve optimized design which
rise angles) will reduce landing load impact (which could resist impact on various operating condition. This is
decreases with increasing deadrise angle) [6]. This is based on the existing designs of floats and hulls for a
therefore could be achieved by using composites for float given static beam loading coefficient, the geometry of the
or hull construction which will give an advantage for required floats in terms of the beam which floats
such hull types compared to aluminium. In addition, relatively of the amphibian aircraft.
corrosion may also be avoided by using fibre material for
the basic structure [7, 8], a thin coating and overcoat with 2. Landing On Water
waterproof wax [9, 10] and washed / removed (i.e. using
an ammonia ammonium sulphate butter at pH 9.6 in The primary problem in designing an amphibious
aerated deionized water [11]. Despite corrosion issues on aircraft is the large performance penalty incurred due to
composite floats, impact is the other things that need to the adaptation of the airplane to water operations. In fact,
be considered. in any water operations features, such as floats, a
Since water forces would create very high impact hydrofoil, or a boat-hull and sponsons as depicted in
loads and lead to progressive cumulative damage which Fig.3, will negatively impact the aerodynamic
causes surface cracks, abrasions, or signs of delamination characteristics of the aircraft. On such, the issues are not
[12]. Impact during landing would also affect the only pertinent to aerodynamic problems, but also stability
spreader bars between the floats, the bracing wires and issues that caused by loading due to wave slap. Besides,
their fittings. Furthermore, the signs of movement such as there will be problems with landing and taking off from
loose fasteners, broken welds, or a bracing wire that is anything other than a very calm water state of sea, lake or
noticeably tighter or looser than the others would occur river.
[12].
In the aspect of design configuration, it is crucial to
find a drag-minimized envelope on any intended usage of
amphibian aircraft during design stage. The moment
gradient of the envelope plays an important role for the

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The major constraint for sea condition take-off and

landing are the drag will increase due to the larger wetted
length to beam ratio and also spray may become more
prevalent which can lead to wetted control surfaces that
would be dry under nominal conditions. Water condition
does play a major role in determining the landing impact
characteristic of amphibian aircraft. Therefore, since
1940, minimum standards of water landing areas were
published by US Department of Commerce.
Furthermore, water could cause an impact load on the
hull structure due to the force exerted on the hull. These
forces are related to the rate of growth of the waterplane
area. On this, the development of impact theory has been
a main focus in amphibian aircraft engineering since the
Fig. 3 Sponson on an amphibian aircraft [18] late 1920's and later promotes slamming theory on
planing hulls. Even in the early days, studies were made
Even though the reliability issue on rough water in areas such as conservation of momentum imparted
services is important, there is limited evidence or study from the amphibian aircraft to associated water mass of
existed for open seawater operation. This includes sea the hull [21]. There were also studies regarding transverse
conditions and on surface operating behaviour [19]. Some pressure distributions and wave rise during impact [22,
trials performed with certain condition and criteria’s of 23]. Such studies provide vital information and set
sea swell but there is limited quantified evidence of water baseline for other impact on water theories. Fig. 5 shows
performance data available [19]. the variation of peak pressure coefficient according to
Furthermore, these trials were meant only for specific those studies.
type of aircraft and the focuses were only on take-off and
landing performance of the aircraft itself. The result
shows in Fig.4 about 90% of all waves are in sea state 4
or lower (i.e. Below 8 ft. in height), while sea state 5
encompasses about 95% of all waves likely to be
encountered. Therefore, the aim for amphibian aircraft to
have full operational capability in sea state 4, with limited
operation in sea state 5 as it is reflected in the amphibian
aircraft design notion.

Fig. 5 Variation of peak pressure coefficient [23]

Early impact theories assumed that the momentum of

the amphibian aircraft imparted to the virtual mass would
remain constant. However, this is only true in the case of
vertical drop where the velocity parallel to the keel is
zero. For typical oblique amphibian aircraft landings
depicted in Fig. 6, momentum of the amphibian aircraft is
not only imparted to the virtual mass of the water
Fig. 4 Amphibian aircraft rough water operation [19]. connected or associated with the impact area of the hull
but also to the downwash as the water slides off the step
For example, a research was carried to examine the or the rear of the plane.
factors of take-off resistance comparatively during take- The cross section at the step determines the
off in calm seas and rough seas [20]. In calm seas, an momentum imparted to the downwash, whereas the
amphibian aircraft could operate at trim conditions forward cross sections have more effect on the virtual
(aircraft elevation of nose-up or nose-down) that give a mass. Thus, applying equations that solely consider the
maximum lift-to-drag ratio. On the contrary, lift-to-drag vertical velocity during impact and not the resultant
ratio is reduced while having significant waves. This is velocity of both vertical and horizontal velocities like in
due to the uncontrollable heaving and pitching of the oblique landing, neglect the momentum imparted to the
aircraft in water. The water would increase the resistance downwash [27].
of an aircraft and will decrease the take-off performance.
This would also be true in landing situation since the
aircraft need to cruise until it comes to rest [15].

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with variations related to the wind blow. In addition, the

increase of tourism and the way people tend to travel into
natural sanctuary explains the attention on amphibian
aircrafts. Gobbi et al. [28] mentioned in their report that
the number of tourist involves in nature is increasing day
by day. Tourists are now focusing on the natural
attraction of an area. Amphibian aircrafts were required in
terms of society's needs on alternative transportation due
to its characteristics as follows:

a. Highly versatile mode of transportation.

Fig. 6 Typical oblique amphibian aircraft landing [24]. b. Point to point connections.
c. Sightseeing tours/tourism. Amphibian aircrafts still
hold a considerable novelty value amongst most of the
3. Hull Design population and therefore will attract tourists and other
adventurous types of tourist who want to experience
The hull structure of amphibian aircraft has to be something different and willing to pay more to
designed to withstand the loading without any damage experience it.
while landing. This is especially true since amphibians d. No need for runway infrastructures, "unprepared"
aircraft are increasingly being manufactured using landing strip, smaller landing fees than landplanes.
composite materials in which the repair and maintenance e. More access of the earth's surface area than a
cost are significantly high. Therefore, theory of the early conventional land plane which is 40% (flying boats)
impacts that assume the momentum of seaplane imparted and 70% (amphibian plane). This suggests on usage
to the virtual mass remain constant will be used. This such as a using the aircraft as fishing boat
theory is only true in the case of vertical drop where the (recreational) while on water.
velocity parallel to the keel is zero. While for typical of
oblique seaplane landings, the momentum of the This is the reason why amphibian aircrafts were
amphibian aircraft is not only imparted to the virtual mass placed on an important and permanent position in the
of the water connected or associated with the impact area aeronautical perspective.
of the hull, but also to the downwash as the water passes
off the step or the rear of the plane. Several effects of 5. Review Summary
impact load will be determined as such:
This study would provide an interesting result since
a. Severe structural damage can be done to the plating the water impact is challenging due to water characteristic
and framing of the fuselage if the loads are not itself and also the uncertainties of composite laminate
estimated appropriately. According to Faltinsen [25], behaviour under progressive failure condition. All of this
since hydroelasticity is ignored in most amphibian information would be gathered to provide sufficient
aircraft’s impact theories (which is assumed as a rigid information on optimum operating condition of an
body), then the average pressure is important to the amphibian aircraft during landing on water. The
structural response where the cross sections have methodology of using experimental result as a
more effect on the virtual mass. verification tool for the simulation would enhance the
b. The effect of free water surface wave rise during understanding towards composite progressive failure. It
penetration of impact is necessary to be measured in would also validate the simulation result. Further
which the chines may immerse before maximum understanding of composite failure would be crucial. In
acceleration occurs. In this case, the acceleration addition, laminae characteristic and its modelling in LS-
would be less than if the chines had not been DYNA should be one of the priorities for this project.
immersed. Therefore, an estimate for the rule of chine Furthermore, landing angle and initial velocity of
immersion for length-to-beam ratio hulls, the amphibian aircraft on particular model type should be
maximum acceleration, and maximum penetration or studied extensively. In order to fulfil this research, data
draft occurs without chine immersion with normal such as drop test values, material properties and aircraft
loading need to be known [26]. model should be obtained from the industry. This would
provide necessary information on conducting experiment
4. Recent Interest In Amphibian Aircraft and final simulation. Several aspect of mesh refinement
should be done to evaluate and optimized resources in the
The fact that 75% of the earth's surface is covered in material.
water provides the opportunity for amphibian aircraft to
gain access even to the most remote parts of the world. In
most of these remote places, there are no developed
Acknowledgement
runways, but only vast expanses of sea, lakes, and The author would like to acknowledge Universiti
waterways. This offers extremely long natural runway Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Malaysia, Ministry of
Education, Malaysia and University Of Hertfordshire,

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United Kingdom as the sponsors for this study. The

author would also acknowledge Equator Aircraft Norway [13] Lutz, T., Wagner, S., (1997). Drag Reduction And
for their full support. Shape Optimization Of Airship Bodies.

[14] Livephysics, Solve Problem Related To Impact

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