Wave Basin Experiments Research Articles

Wave Basin Experiments Of Wave-Driven Hydrodynamics Over Submerged Coastal Structures And Artificial Reefs

Submerged coastal structures, such as submerged breakwaters and artificial reefs, modify incident wave fields and alter a wide range of nearshore hydrodynamic processes. Submerged breakwaters are usually designed for a singular function of wave attenuation; whereas nature-based artificial reef structures aim to both attenuate wave energy while enhancing ecosystem services, including the creation of habitat for marine organisms and the promotion of biodiversity. However, to date the application of artificial reefs has remained more limited due to the poorer understanding of how reefs influence key nearshore processes that determine their effectiveness. Existing research on submerged breakwaters has mostly focused on quantifying the wave transmission, which is ratio between the incident wave energy onshore and offshore of the reefs (e.g., van Gent 2023). The wave transmission coefficient has conventionally served as a primary design criterion related to the effectiveness of reefs in offering coastal protection. However, a meta-analysis of the shoreline response to constructed submerged breakwaters found that in the majority of cases erosion occurred in their lee (Ranasinghe and Turner., 2006), which demonstrates our limited knowledge on how reefs modify coastal processes. Wave-reef interactions can lead to the generation of mean (wave-averaged) currents and water levels (setup). Numerical modelling studies have found that two and four-cell mean circulation patterns can develop in response to changes to the wave field caused by submerged structures (Ranasinghe et al., 2006, da Silva et al., 2022). A two-cell circulation is characterized by diverging currents behind the reefs and at the shoreline, which could lead to an erosive shoreline. In contrast, a four-cell circulation is characterized by diverging currents in the immediate lee but converging currents at the shoreline, which would result in beach accretion. While these modelling studies advanced the understanding of how reefs influence shoreline hydrodynamics, the absence of comprehensive experimental observations replicating submerged coastal structures has hindered their rigorous validation. Here we present the findings of an extensive set of 3D wave basin experiments that were designed to investigate the detailed wave-driven hydrodynamics around submerged coastal structures subject to a range of wave conditions, water levels and reef layouts.

Two-dimensional inverse energy cascade in a laboratory surf zone for varying wave directional spread

Surfzone eddies enhance the dispersion and transport of contaminants, bacteria, and larvae across the nearshore, altering coastal water quality and ecosystem health. During directionally spread wave conditions, vertical vortices (horizontal eddies) are injected near the ends of breaking crests. Energy associated with these eddies may be transferred to larger-scale, low-frequency rotational motions through an inverse energy cascade, consistent with two-dimensional turbulence. However, our understanding of the relationships between the wave conditions and the dynamics and energetics of low-frequency surfzone eddies are largely based on numerical modeling. Here, we test these relationships with remotely sensed and in situ observations from large-scale directional wave basin experiments with varying wave conditions over alongshore-uniform barred bathymetry. Surface velocities derived with particle image velocimetry were employed to assess the spatial scales of low-frequency surfzone eddies and compute structure functions with alongshore velocities. Second-order structure functions for directionally spread waves (σθ≥10°) are consistent with energy flux to larger or smaller length scales, while normally incident, unidirectional waves do not display this behavior. Third-order structure functions suggest that the surfzone flows exhibit a bidirectional energy cascade—a direct cascade to smaller and inverse cascade to larger length scales—during large directional spreads waves (σθ≥18°). However, there is not decisive evidence of an inverse energy cascade for moderate directional spreads (σθ=10°). Energy flux varies by cross-shore location and increases with increasing directional spread and wave height. Eddy decorrelation length scales weakly depend on wave directional spread. These findings advance our understanding of the dynamics linking wave breaking to large-scale rotational motions that enhance mixing and lead to rip currents, important conduits for cross-shore material exchange.

A numerical investigation of the 2DH wave characteristics across a fringing reef profile with reef-flat excavation pit

The dredging of reef-flat sand for engineering construction is a common activity on some Asia-Pacific reef islands, which attract increasing concerns in the community of coastal hazard mitigation. Comparing to the well-studied one-dimensional horizontal (1DH) fringing reefs with excavation pit on the reef flat, little is known about such wave characteristics as sea and swell (SS) waves, infragravity (IG) waves, wave-induced setup and wave-driven current in a two-dimensional horizontal (2DH) fringing reef configuration with the reef-flat pit. To remedy this research gap, a 2DH numerical model according to a set of Boussinesq equations is proposed in this study. The 1DH form of used model is firstly verified with a wave flume experiment based on SS wave height, IG wave height and wave setup along the 1DH reef profile with and without the pit, then its 2DH form is verified by a wave basin experiment in view of both wave and mean current processes in a reef-lagoon-channel system. A comparison between 1DH and 2DH reef configurations with pit is also conducted to further validate the 2DH model. Subsequently, the model is adopted to investigate the effect of excavation pit on these wave processes, particularly for the wave-driven current, in the 2DH reef configuration. The present model is finally used to examine the influences of incident wave conditions and pit morphological features on the wave characteristics in the 2DH reef environment.

Experimental study of interactions between focused waves and a point absorber wave energy converter

Predicting the response of point absorber wave energy converters (WECs) in extreme sea states is crucial for assessing their survivability. However, data are scarce and hydrodynamic understanding is limited. In order to simulate extreme wave conditions, laboratory-scale focused waves based on NewWave theory have been utilized. To investigate the interactions between focused waves and a point absorber WEC, a wave basin experiment has been conducted. Various parameters, including focusing amplitude and peak frequency have been examined across three different damping conditions. The motion response of the point absorber WEC and the corresponding mooring force have been measured over time. The experimental findings reveal that both the focused wave parameters and the damping values have a significant influence on the motion response and mooring force. It is shown that an increase in the focusing amplitude leads to a more intense motion response, while the mooring force is relatively insensitive to the focused amplitude/peak frequency when the end-stop spring is not compressed. The force in the connection line is maximized when the upper end-stop spring is compressed. As the peak frequency increases, the heave and surge responses decrease, whereas the maximum mooring force increases with peak frequency for a locked power take-off (PTO) system. Finally, the results indicate that optimizing the design of the power take-off system, including selecting appropriate damping values and stroke lengths for the translator, can significantly reduce the mooring load for extreme wave conditions.

Numerical verification of the dynamic aerodynamic similarity criterion for wind tunnel experiments of floating offshore wind turbines

Model tests and real-time hybrid simulation tests of floating offshore wind turbines have recently been extensively conducted to explore the aero-hydro-servo-elastic coupling mechanism. The traditional thrust similarity criterion under the Froude scale cannot satisfy the dynamic aerodynamic similarity in the wave basin experiments. Meanwhile, the traditional model wind turbine in model tests shows huge differences in Reynolds number and significant deviations in the optimal tip speed ratio, and the dynamic performance is different from that of the prototype wind turbine. Therefore, a new criterion based on the mapping of the optimal tip speed ratio is proposed, and a new model wind turbine is designed to physically reproduce the dynamic aerodynamics of the prototype wind turbine accurately in wind tunnel experiments. Then the dynamic aerodynamic similarity in this criterion is numerically verified and compared with that in the traditional criterion. The simulation is performed in steady and unsteady inflows by the open-source OpenFAST. The platform motions of the prototype and model wind turbine are inflow-motivated and program-forced, respectively. The calculation results show that the dynamic thrust, power and their coefficients in the new criterion all maintain better similarity compared to those in the traditional criterion. This study is important for wind tunnel model tests and RTHS tests to accurately obtain unsteady aerodynamics, and it can guide the aero-hydro-structure load evaluations and turbine-floater-mooring integrated designs for large-scale floating offshore wind turbines.

Design Wave analysis of the M4 wave energy converter device

We present physical results for a Design Wave analysis of the M4 wave energy converter (WEC), whichis currently being developed for a kW scale deployment in King George Sound, off the coast of Albany, Western Australia. The M4 wave energy converter is a hinged multifloat device utilising relative pitch as the power-producing mode of motion. We have conducted wave basin experiments at the Australian Maritime College in Launceston, TAS Australia, at a scale of 1:15 compared to the ocean trial. We present an experimental analysis of the hinge rotation in a severe sea state identified for the King George Sound location. We identify the most extreme response of the hinge rotation and the wave that causes it – the so-called Design Wave. By averaging the largest structural responses measured in long irregular wave realisations of the extreme sea states, we identify the most likely extreme response.The Design Wave is found to be the average of the surface elevation signals occurring simultaneously with instances of the largest response. The Design Wave thus identified is then produced in the basin and the M4 response measured.

Parametric sensitivity of crane ship numerical model with experimental verification in a wave basin

Numerical modeling of crane ship dynamics has become widely used with the development of computational fluid dynamics methods. However, the high number of components in the hydrodynamic forces calculation algorithm introduces a degree of uncertainty, so researchers face difficulties in assessing the influence of various force contributions and model parameters on the result. In this regard, the authors of this paper investigate the parametric sensitivity of a reduced-scale crane ship numerical model. The study should provide some insight for research engineers on how the dynamics of the vessel visually change when different approaches to force calculations, mesh sizes, and cable modeling are taken into account. It would also facilitate optimized model creation for marine engineers since it is not always possible to perform the determination of all the terms of a complex multiphysics model. The comparison of simulation results with the wave-basin experiments on the determination of ship wave-induced motions accompanies the authors’ conclusions.

Phase-resolved real-time forecasting of three-dimensional ocean waves via machine learning and wave tank experiments

Accurate prediction of ocean waves plays an essential role in many ocean engineering applications, such as the control of wave energy converters and floating wind turbines. However, existing studies on phase-resolved wave prediction using machine learning mainly focus on two-dimensional wave data, while ocean waves are usually three-dimensional. In this work, we investigate, for the first time, the phase-resolved real-time prediction of three-dimensional waves using machine learning methods. Specifically, the wave prediction is modeled as a supervised learning task aiming at learning mapping relationships between the input historical wave data and the output future wave elevations. Four frequently-used machine learning methods are employed to tackle this task and a novel Dual-Branch Network (DBNet) is proposed for performance improvement. A group of wave basin experiments with nine directional wave spectra under three sea states are first conducted to collect the data of 3D waves. Then the wave data are used for verifying the effectiveness of the machine learning methods. The results demonstrate that the upstream wave data measured by the gauge array can be used for control-oriented wave forecasting with a forecasting horizon of more than 20 s, where the directional information provided by the upstream gauge array is vital for accurately predicting the downstream wave elevations. In addition, further investigations show that by using only local wave data (which can be easily obtained), the very short-term phase-resolved prediction (less than 5 s) can be achieved.

Wave-Current Impact on Shear Stress Patterns around 3D Shallow Bedforms

Observations from wave basin experiments and wave-resolving numerical simulations demonstrate the effect of wave-current interaction on shear stress around a sandy mound. Observations from the wave basin show that the mound deformation rate and morphological patterns depend on the mixture of waves and currents in the incident flow conditions. A SWASH nonhydrostatic numerical model was used to expand the parameter space of wave-current conditions observed in the flume and characterize the response of the near-bed shear stress to the mound. The model was validated with observations from wave-alone, current-alone, and wave-current flume tests and then ran for a suite of numerical flow conditions which isolate the impact of the ratio of wave-current energy on the bed shear stress. Results show how the current-to-wave ratio impacts the spatial heterogeneity of shear stress across the mound, with the region of shear stress intensification around the mound and the location of the peak shear stress becoming asymmetric with more mixed wave-current flows. These results show the nonlinear response of shear stress patterns to combined wave-current flows and how these patterns may impact eventual sediment transport and mound evolution.

Surf-zone dynamics derived from basin-scale experiments

Surf-zone hydrodynamics forced by oblique wave shoaling and breaking on beach slopes were investigated. The results showed that in wave-basin experiments with incident angles in the range of 15°–30°, wave breaking was initiated at a breaker coefficient of around 0.67, which was significantly less than that predicted from empirical relations based on normally incident waves for a given beach slope and deep-water wave steepness. The measurements also showed that subsequent saturated breaking occurred at a breaker coefficient of around 0.47 that was independent of beach slope in the range of 1:10 to 1:100. This result is likely applicable to both oblique and normally incident waves. It is shown that the measured wave heights and longshore velocity profiles in wave-basin studies can be reasonably well predicted by theory with proper adjustments to the process parameters. Best-match formulations were identified for quantifying bottom friction, eddy viscosity, and energy loss due to surface rollers.

Study on Array Floating Platform for Wind Energy and Marine Space Optimization

The concept of multiline anchor, whose application is mainly considered in water depths beyond 100 m and analyzed only by numerical simulation, has been discussed for half a decade, yet previous studies have not conducted the wave basin experiment. Thus, this paper set this concept firstly with a shallow water mooring system designed for a Taiwan offshore water area, where the suitable water depth for floating offshore wind turbine is located from 50 to 100 m, and then conducted a 1:144 scaled model wave basin experiment to validate the results from numerical simulation. In this paper, the numerical model simulated and analyzed three identical DeepCwind OC4 semi-submersible platforms equipped with NREL 5MW wind turbines in OrcaFlex and the experiment carried out by using three 1:144 scaled semi-submersible platforms with equivalent disks which simulated different operations of wind thrusts. To consider the possible influence of the wake effect, the minimum turbines spacing was set at 750 m in a full scaled model and the length of mooring lines was redesigned according to the catenary theory. This paper utilized OrcaWave to calculate hydrodynamic parameters and input it into OrcaFlex to simulate the line tension and the three degrees of freedom (surge, heave, and pitch) of the platforms under regular and irregular wave tests, and coordinate with scaled model tests carried out in Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory (THL). In addition to the reduction in the number of anchors, the concept of multiline anchor was also discussed in this study for the spatial configuration of offshore wind farms. It shows that the wind farm composed of three floating wind turbines can reduce the ocean space by roughly 24% compared to that with a single-line anchor. According to the comparison of numerical and experimental results, this study finally optimized the mooring lines by changing the diameter to increase the stability and the threshold of Minimum Breaking Load (MBL) and proposed a multiline anchor configuration for shallow offshore water area in Taiwan based on the results obtained.

Experimental study and attitude control of a floating type shrouded wind turbine

Thrust force needs to be taken into account in the development of floating type shrouded wind turbines since it would lead to large tower inclination, and both the power conversion efficiency and the safety margin of the system would be reduced. In this study, a novel spar-type shrouded wind turbine using a hinge to mount the nacelle on the tower, which can maintain the nacelle in horizontal state even with large tower inclination, is studied based on a 1:100 model. The characteristics of the wind turbine are studied via wind tunnel experiments and wave basin experiments. In wind tunnel experiments, the wind speed-up performance of the shroud and the self-aligning property of the wind turbine are evaluated. In wave basin experiments, dynamical response of the wind turbine in idling, operational and parked modes are studied. A model-based attitude controller for stabilizing the nacelle is also proposed and the control performance is analyzed based on experimental results.

Total wave power absorption by a multi-float wave energy converter and a semi-submersible wind platform with a fast far field model for arrays

Wave energy converters absorb wave power by mechanical damping for conversion into electricity and multi-float systems may have high capture widths. The kinetic energy of the floats causes waves to be radiated, generating radiation damping. The total wave power absorbed is thus due to mechanical and radiation damping. A floating offshore wind turbine platform also responds dynamically and damping plates are generally employed on semi-submersible configurations to reduce motion, generating substantial drag which absorbs additional wave power. Total wave power absorption is analysed here by linear wave diffraction–radiation–drag models for a multi-float wave energy converter and an idealised wind turbine platform, with response and mechanical power in the wave energy case compared with wave basin experiments, including some directional spread wave cases, and accelerations compared in the wind platform case. The total power absorption defined by capture width is input into a far field array model with directional wave spreading. Wave power transmission due a typical wind turbine array is only reduced slightly (less than 5% for a 10 × 10 platform array) but may be reduced significantly by rows of wave energy converters (by up to about 50%).

High-Capacity Wave Energy Conversion by Multi-Float, Multi-PTO, Control and Prediction: Generalized State-Space Modelling With Linear Optimal Control and Arbitrary Headings

Wave energy converters with capacity similar to, or greater than, wind turbines are desirable for the supply of electricity to the grid. It is shown that this may be provided by multiple floats in a hinged raft-type configuration with multi-mode forcing. The case analysed has 8 floats and 4 power take off (PTO) units. Analysis is based on linear diffraction-radiation modelling, validated in wave basin experiments with a smaller number of floats. Control is desirable to improve energy capture, mainly demonstrated for point absorbers, but this has not previously been applied to such a complex problem with many degrees of freedom. The linear hydrodynamic model in a state-space form makes it possible to implement advanced control algorithms in real time. Linear non-causal optimal control (LNOC) is applied with wave force prediction from auto-regression. For the design case with zero heading, as the configuration heads naturally into the wave direction, energy capture is improved by between 21% and 83%. The energy capture is about 62% the maximum possible from idealised analyses. Off-design, non-zero headings are also analysed to indicate how energy capture can be reduced; the contribution from different modes of forcing varies with heading and energy capture is always improved by control, by several times at <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$90^{\circ }$</tex-math></inline-formula> heading.

Sandwich-like triboelectric nanogenerators integrated self-powered buoy for navigation safety

Powering marine distributed buoys sustainably and cost-efficiently has always been challenging in the ocean environment. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG), thanks to their robustness, high efficiency and low cost in energy harvesting, has provided a novel solution to the long-term electrical power supply for a series of distributed systems (including buoys). In this study, a wave energy harvesting sandwich-like TENG (S-TENG) has been proposed. In the on-land forced motion experiments, the S-TENG yields much superior performances compared to previous tower-like TENG in terms of the power density. The studies also reveal that the electrical output increases linearly even with larger number of parallel connected S-TENG layers. Consequently, a buoy integrated with 7 parallel connected S-TENGs is studied through systematic wave basin experiments and the relevance of most hydrodynamic parameters (including wave height, frequency, direction as well as mooring system) have been revealed. The presented wave basin experiments are original in wave energy harvesting TENG research practice and prove to be very helpful in that they simulate the most close-to-real ocean environments in the lab. The studies are concluded with a 12 W high-brightness LED lit up on a navigation supporting buoy. This study has set a benchmark of achieving self-powered buoy with TENG, which can be extended to other marine distributed systems such as sensors and small robotics. • Sandwich structure boosting output power density of triboelectric nanogenerators. • Accessible power promotion through parallel nanogenerators in layers. • First time triboelectric nanogenerator tested in an advanced wave basin. • Self-powered navigation buoy achieved by triboelectric nanogenerator integration.

Wave-induced shallow-water monopolar vortex: large-scale experiments

Abstract

Experimental and numerical investigation of tsunami behavior around two upright sea dikes with different heights

ABSTRACT The 2011 Tohoku Tsunami caused severe damage to many coastal defenses along the Japanese coastline, including areas where two adjacent upright sea dikes of different heights met. There are many places along the coastline where structures of different heights and shapes meet due to the various design codes. In this study, the authors aim to examine the tsunami flow around such dikes by conducting three-dimensional hydraulic experiments in a tsunami wave basin and numerical simulations using the fluid dynamics model OpenFOAM. Twelve experimental cases were tested by changing the waveforms, and also by keeping the height of one side of the dike model constant while adjusting the dimensions of the other side. The results show that the difference in height between the structures significantly influences the volume of overtopping over the relatively lower dike and the inundation depth and velocity behind the dikes. Furthermore, different characteristics of inundation patterns are observed between the inundation depth and velocity. Hence, this study illustrates the necessity to re-assess the effectiveness of such structures against tsunami events.

Capturing the experimental behaviour of a point-absorber WEC by simplified numerical models

The paper presents a wave basin experiment of a direct-driven point-absorber wave energy converter moving in six degrees of freedom. The goal of the work is to study the dynamics and energy absorption of the wave energy converter, and to verify under which conditions numerical models restricted to heave can capture the behaviour of a point-absorber moving in six degrees of freedom. Several regular and irregular long-crested waves and different damping values of the power take-off system have been tested. We collected data in terms of power output, device motion in six degrees of freedom and wave elevation at different points of the wave basin. A single-body numerical model in the frequency domain and a two-body model in the time domain are used in the study. Motion instabilities due to parametric resonance observed during the experiments are discussed and analysis of the buoy motion in terms of the Mathieu instability is also presented. Our results show that the simplified models can reproduce the body dynamics of the studied converter as long as the transverse non-linear instabilities are not excited, which typically is the case in irregular waves. The performance of the more complex time domain model is able to reproduce both the buoy and PTO dynamics, while the simpler frequency domain model can only reproduce the PTO dynamics for specific cases. Finally, we show that the two-body dynamics of the studied wave energy converter affects the power absorption significantly, and that common assumptions in the numerical models, such as stiff mooring line or that the float moves only in heave, may lead to incorrect predictions for certain sea states.

Wave Force Characteristics and Stability of Detached Breakwaters Consisting of Open Cell Caissons Interlocked via Crushed Stones

The maximum external force acting on a long continuous harbor structure can be reduced by controlling the phase difference of forces acting longitudinally. This strategy can be used to increase the structural stability of breakwaters consisting of caissons. Breakwaters have been developed using interlocking caissons to effectively respond to the constant increase in wave height due to climate change. In this study, we investigated the wave force characteristics and stability of a detached breakwater consisting of open cell caissons interlocked via crushed stones. We performed wave basin experiments and compared the results with analytical solutions of linear diffraction waves. The results revealed that the maximum wave force acting on the front of the breakwater decreased as the incident angle increased, reducing by as much as 79% for an incident angle of 30°. Although the variability of the maximum wave force for each caisson is large owing to the influence of the diffracted waves, the maximum wave force acting on the entire detached breakwater was not significantly affected by this variability. The analytical solutions based on linear wave theory agreed with the experimental results, indicating that the findings can be applied to actual designs. The structural stability of the breakwater was enhanced, even for low incident wave angles, compared to that of a single integral structure, as the frictional resistance produced by the sliding structure increased due to the shear resistance between the filled crushed stones and the rubble mound.

Experimental study on short-crested random wave interaction with pile group in double-row side-by-side arrangement: a statistical analysis

ABSTRACT A series of wave basin experiments have been conducted to investigate the interactions between short-crested waves and complex pile groups. A statistical analysis of the interactions between short-crested random waves and a pile group with nine piles in a side-by-side arrangement has been shown in our previous study. As a parallel study, the short-crested random wave action on a pile group with eight small-scale piles in a double-row side-by-side arrangement is experimentally investigated in this paper. Variations in the coefficients of the pile group effect with the KCLD 1/3 parameter and standard deviation σθ of directional spreading are given. The relations of the inline force, transverse force, and resultant force are illustrated, and the wave loading of the piles in the group is ascertained. The results show that wave directionality plays an important part in the short-crested random wave action on pile group structures, especially on the transverse force of the piles. The pile group effect in a double-row side-by-side arrangement is weaker than that in simply a one-row side-by-side arrangement due to interactions between the rows of the piles.