A review of physical flexible ship models used for hydroelastic experiments

Hydroelasticity of ships has been established as a necessary form of investigation for both slender ships and high-speed craft. Experimental investigations have spanned various topics, including symmetric and antisymmetric, harmonic and transient, linear and nonlinear responses. Models have varied in size and the way the structure is modelled, depending of the focus of the investigation. The multitude of interacting physical mechanisms introduce almost-impossible-to-resolve scaling issues, and the eventual compromises depend on the aim of the investigator. This publication provides a comprehensive review of the evolution of these experimental techniques, from the first appearances of the field to the modern state-of-the-art and potential future directions.