A scattering of obliquely incident flexural gravity long waves by an articulated floating elastic plate having structural heterogeneity is studied within the framework of blocking dynamics. The dispersion curve reveals that for a range of compressive force before the buckling limit, wave blocking occurs for two different values of time-period where group velocity vanishes. The smaller value of the time period for which blocking occurs is referred to as primary blocking, whilst the higher value of the time period is referred to as secondary blocking. Moreover, three propagating wave modes exist on the plate-covered surfaces for each period within the primary and secondary blocking. The energy relation is derived for obliquely incident waves and a given time period at which multiple propagating waves exist in the plate-covered surface. The newly obtained energy relation depends on the amplitudes of the individual reflected and transmitted waves and the associated energy transfer rates. Four removable singularities and a jump discontinuity are observed in the reflection and transmission coefficients due to wave blocking. Besides, irregular behavior in the plate deflection is observed for a certain time period within the blocking limits due to the interaction of three waves.
There has been significant progress in understanding the hydroelastic analysis of very large floating structures (VLFSs) due to its broad applicability in using open ocean space for various humanitarian activities. An analogous branch of study is the gravity wave interaction with floating ice sheets in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ), which is of significant interest in polar region science and technology. (Squire, 2020) established a synergy between the study on wave-ice interaction problems and wave interaction with VLFSs since the ice sheets and VLFSs are modeled as thin elastic plates. These VLFSs generally consist of several small modules manufactured in shipyards and assembled on-site. The connections, which rely on the stiffness constants known as the vertical linear and flexural rotational spring stiffnesses, articulate the thin elastic plates. (Namba and Ohkusu, 1999) analyzed the hydroelastic response of a pontoon-type VLFS with a rectangular plane form subjected to oblique incident surface waves in shallow and deep water depths. Further, (Ohkusu and Namba, 2004) investigated the vibration of VLFS in shallow water depth analytically. (Loukogeorgaki et al., 2012) numerically performed the hydroelastic analysis of a free and flexible floating breakwater consisting of a grid of several flexible modules. (Xia et al., 2000) examined the hydroelastic behavior of an articulated plate, using the behavior of an articulated plate, using a single line load and its derivatives in the water of finite depth to simulate the connections. (Karmakar and Sahoo, 2005) analyzed the flexural gravity wave scattering by an articulated floating elastic plate in the water of infinite depth without considering the effect of structural compression. Further, (Karmakar et al., 2009) generalized their study to examine the behavior of flexural gravity wave scattering due to multiple articulations in an infinitely extended floating flexible structure.