Investigation into wave basin calibration based on a focused wave approach

The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed numerical investigation concerning the calibration of force controlled wave generation facilities. The methodology is presented for a 2-dimensional calibration; the findings being equally applicable to the calibration of 3-dimensional wave basins. State-of-the-art force controlled wavemaking facilities comprise sophisticated hardware, software and control systems, commonly incorporating active absorption mechanisms. Such facilities have the potential to reproduce ocean wave of exceptional quality, but poor understanding of accurate calibration processes often hinders full exploitation. A technique based upon the generation of focused wave events may oer a very accurate and time-efficient calibration. However, such a methodology may lead to erroneous results if not employed correctly. The theoretical and statistical analysis presented herein investigates the sensitivity of such method to a number of important parameters. The results obtained are directly applicable to a large number of hydrodynamic facilities.