  In naval hydrodynamics most the reseach on the impact of the hull of a vesel
to the water surface has focused primarily on mapping the forces on the hull
and much less to the formation of the spray. The latter is the topic of the
present work, where the spray generated by the impact of a flat plate on a
quiescent water surface is studied by experiments and simulations at different
impact Froude numbers. Overall two types of sprays are formed: Type I, which is
a cloud of droplets and ligaments generated at the impact of the plate's
leading edge with the water surface, and Type II, which is formed after the
trailing edge of the plate enters the local water surface. Detailed analysis of
the experimental data for the Type II spray revealed that the spray envelopes
and root point trajectories are independent of Froude number close to the
trailing edge, while further away reach higher vertical positions for larger
Froude numbers. The numerical simulation captures the general behavior of the
Type II spray and agrees favorably with the experimental results. A series of
computations with a flexible plate is also reported, where it is shown that
increased flexibility reduces the height of the spray and suppresses the
formation of droplets.
