The eventual deployment of wave energy converters (WECs) on a commercial scale will necessitate the grouping of devices into arrays or "wave farms," in order to minimize overhead costs of mooring, maintenance, installation, and electrical cabling for shoreward power delivery. Closely spaced WECs will interact hydrodynamically through diffracted and radiated...
This thesis presents the details of a large-scale laboratory experiment to study the
turbulence generated by waves breaking on a fixed barred beach. The data set includes
comprehensive measurements of free surface displacement and fluid velocity for one
random and one regular wave case.
Observations of the time-averaged turbulent kinetic...
This repository item contains the files needed to reproduce the results reported in the published work entitled "Runups of unusual size: rogueness and variability of swash" in the Journal of Geophysical Research. As described in the publication, the results described within it pertain to simulations of wave runup for various...
Oregon State University conducted a series of laboratory experiments to measure and quantify the near-field wave effects caused within arrays of Wave Energy Converters (WEC). As the waves and WECs interact, the WECs generate radiated waves; these effects vary with the location within the array. Analyzing the near-field waves will...
Radiation stresses, defined as the excess flow of momentum due to the presence of waves (Longuet-Higgins, 1964), are the main drivers behind the cross-shore and longshore forcing that results in wave setup, set-down, and longshore currents (e.g. Svendsen, 2006). Longshore currents entrain and transport sediment and therefore play an important...
Rip currents pose a serious danger to visitors of bathing beaches; they are also an important process in surf zone circulation. Haller et al. [2014] demonstrated that shore-based X-band radar can be used to compliment in situ measurements of rip currents. However, little is known of the underlying radar imaging...
This dissertation has focused on the charateristics of bubbles generated by breaking waves and the feedback of wave-current interaction on the forcing mechanism of low frequency wave especially basin seiching wave. For the first study, Optical image capture observations of breaking waves in a laboratory surf zone are presented. The...
Successful prediction of nearshore sediment migration is important in determining the vulnerability of a coastline. During energetic wave climates (storm events) sediment rapidly erodes from beaches and is deposited offshore. In subsequent milder wave conditions, the sediment migrates shoreward, accreting on the beach and helping to protect the coastline. It...
Ocean Wave Energy Converters (WECs) operating on the water surface are subject to storms and other extreme events. In particular, high and steep waves, especially breaking waves, are likely the most dangerous to WECs. A method for quantifying the breaking severity of waves is presented and applied to wave data...
Underwater robots beneath ocean waves can benefit from feedforward control to reduce position error. This thesis proposes a method using Model Predictive Control (MPC) to predict and counteract future disturbances from an ocean wave field. The MPC state estimator employs a Linear Wave Theory (LWT) solver to approximate the component...
Wave energy is emerging as a new potential source for renewable energy generation. However, wave energy technology is not currently cost competitive with other more mature renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. One approach that researchers and developers are taking to reduce the cost of wave energy is...