MODULE II

LABORATORY WAVE GENERATION

Prof. S. A. Sannasiraj
Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras

________________________________________________
1. INTRODUCTION
Wave form moves forward with significant amount of energy from the origin and the
properties of which are very important for the researchers, scientists and engineers. The wind
waves are further classified according to relative water depth (ratio of the water depth, d to
wave length, L) and the characteristic behavior. Based on the water depth, the wind waves are
classified as deep water (d/L>0.5), intermediate water (0.05<d/L<0.5) and shallow water
(d/L<0.05) waves. Cnoidal and solitary waves fall in the shallow water wave category. Based
on the characteristic behavior, the waves are categorized into wave groups and breaking
waves. In general, the structures in the marine environment are designed for a design wave
height, period and direction, which are basically obtained from observing the ocean surface
over a long period of time, say for one year at the particular location of interest. In some
coastal areas, the occurrences of successive waves with height exceeding the design wave
height are frequent and they are termed as wave groups. In the very shallow waters, the
waves deform tremendously, that is, its length decreases, whereas, its height increases, finally
resulting in breaking in the near shore zone. The breakers are classified as spilling, plunging,
surging and collapsing types, depending upon the energy and types of breaking. In the deep
water conditions, spilling and plunging breakers are common. The profiles of the different
types of waves discussed above are illustrated Fig. 1.

Fig.1. A physical illustration of various wave profiles.

The dynamic behaviour of wave motion is multifaceted with the interaction between
offshore structures and/or sea bottom. The development of computing resources and the
advent of super computers in the last two decades made it possible on the improvement in the
numerical modelling techniques. However, due to the approximation of the dynamic physical
processes in the representation of governing equation for the nonlinear wave propagation,
still physical modelling in the laboratory plays a major role in the modelling process.
The first major task in the physical modelling process is to generate the waves of
interest with an exact scaled version of nature in the laboratory. It can be achieved by a wave
generating mechanism.

1.1. TYPES OF WAVE MAKERS

There are two basic types of wave makers: shallow water wave makers and deepwater
wave makers. Within these two basic categories there are several various methods in which
the power to generate waves can be produced; pneumatically, hydraulically, and electrically.

The primitive ways of the wave maker is either of a piston or flap or plunger type capable of
generating regular waves. Figs. 2a-c depict the different types of wave makers. The most
commonly deployed wave makers are hinged and piston types. The former is generally been
used to generate deepwater waves and the latter for the generation of shallow water waves.
Fig. 3 presents the water particle velocity profile in the immediate vicinity of wave makers. A
close resemblance of water particle velocity profile generated by the paddles to its
corresponding deep- or shallow water wave conditions explains the use of wave makers.
If one is interested in obtaining the motion behaviour of structures subjected to waves
of different frequencies, the tests have to be done several times in the laboratory covering the
range of frequencies of interest. Due to the advancement in the computers the present
generation of wave makers can generate random waves of pre-defined spectral
characteristics.

Fig.2. Types of wave generators (paddles).

Fig.3. Generated water particle characteristics by the paddle

1.2

Stroke and Power requirement for a piston wave maker

Volume of water displaced over a shore = Volume of water in crest

L/2 H

S sin kx dx
h

0 2
L/2
H cos kx
=
2 k 0
H
H
=
1 1 =
k
2k

H HL
S

h k
2
H
kh
S

(Since valid for kh

10
(Shallow water region)

h = 0.6m

H(m)

F(m)

L(m)

S(m)

0.2
0.05

0.4
2.0

5.7
0.39

0.3
0.005

N m
P
Watts
s
110 x 0.6
0.87 x 0.6

URSELL et al. (1960)

For Piston motion,

2 cosh 2k p h 1
H

S sinh 2k p h 2k p h

Power reqd. to generate the waves

EH
P = E Cn

H2 L
.
8 T
gS 2 h
P
x kh Nm/s
T
4

= g

2. GENERATION OF REGULAR WAVES

Let H be the wave height and S be the wave paddle stroke, i.e., the maximum stroke
distance at the free surface. The frequency of oscillation of the wave paddle should be the
same as the frequency of the wave to be generated in the flume. The transfer function of two
different types of wave paddles is given here. The detailed derivations can be obtained from
Dean and Dalrymple (1969).
For flap motion,

H
sinh kh kh sinh kh cosh kh 1
4
= Transfer function for the wave paddle,

S
sinh 2kh 2kh
kh
TF(f)
(2.1)
For piston type,
H 2cosh 2kh 1

S sinh 2kh 2kh

= Transfer function for the wave paddle, TF(f)

(2.2)

For shallow water condition (h/L < 0.05; kh < /10), the transfer function of wave generation
can be reduced to,
For hinged type wave maker,
For piston type wave maker,

H kh

S 2

(2.3)

H
kh
S

(2.4)

Here, k is the wave number (k=2/L), L is the wave length and h is the water depth.
It is to be noted that the phase lag between the wave paddle motion and the wave surface
elevation at the paddle is 90o.
To generate a linear monochromatic wave elevation of , the paddle motion (xp) should be
known.
Let,

H
cos(kx t )
2

(2.5a)

At x = 0, ie., at the wave paddle,

H
cos(t )
2

x p (t )

(2.5b)

S
sin t
2

(2.6)

From Eqs. (2.1 & 2.2), substitute for S,

x p (t )

H
2

1
sin t for hinged type wave paddle
sinh kh kh sinh kh cosh kh 1
4

sinh 2kh 2kh

kh

(2.7)
x p (t )

H
1
sin t
2 2cosh 2kh 1

sinh 2kh 2kh

for piston type wave paddle

(2.8)

Hence,
x p (t )

H
1
sin t
2 TF ( f )

(2.9)

The above expression is valid to generate a long-crested regular wave. It is to be noted that,
(i) To generate a wave of height H, the paddle movement at the free surface should be
prescribed to be S according to Eq.(2.1 or 2.2).
(ii) The frequency of the wave paddle movement should be the same as the wave frequency
to be generated.
(iii) The phase lag between the paddle movement and the wave is /2.

3.0 GENERATION OF OBLIQUE WAVES

The generation of oblique waves is possible using the multi-element wave maker.
Here, the number of paddles would be operated at the same frequency and stroke but the
phase lag between the paddles were modulated such that a long-crested wave generated at an
angle to the wave maker.
Let be the wave propagation angle which made between the wave crest to the wave
paddle elements.
sin

L
NB

where, N is the number of elements of width B in one oscillation along the wave paddle
alignment.

Fig.4. Generation of an regular oblique wave.

Hence, the phase shift between adjacent elements can be written as

2
N

Hence,
sin

L
2B

2B
sin
L

For a given paddle width B and the wavelength, the phase shift between adjacent
paddles increases with the obliqueness of the wave. The phase shift decreases with the
increase in L/B ratio.
Let the wave surface elevation at any point in the wave basin be expressed as,

( x, y , t )

H
cos(kx cos ky sin t )
2

The paddle motion from its mean position along the wave paddle alignment (x=0) is
expressed as
x p ( y, t )

S
sin( ky sin t )
2


Fig.5. Phase shift as a function of ratio of wave length to paddle width
To generate a wave of height, H and frequency f with a propagating angle of , the paddle
displacement has to be increased by a factor of (1/cos ).

i.e,

H TFnormal ( f )

S
cos

The transfer function of oblique wave generation becomes,

TFobl ( f , )

TFnormal ( f )
cos

However, the phase difference of nth paddle should be taken into account. The movement of
nth paddle (number of paddles from the coordinate origin) can be defined as
x p (n, t )

H
1
sin( kx cos t )
2 TFobl ( f , )

Substituting for ,
x p (n, t )

H
1
sin( kx r cos t k (nB y r ) sin )
2 TFobl ( f , )

where, n indicates the number of position of the paddle; (xr,yr) is the coordinates of
reproduction point in the wave basin.

4.0 GENERATION OF RANDOM WAVES

The wave paddle motion for the simulation of random waves is given by,
n

x p (t )
i

ai
sin( i t i )
TF ( f )

where, ai 2 S ( i ) , n is the number of frequency components, S() is any standard or

measured spectrum.

4.1 Generation of specific wave packet in the laboratory

A monochromatic wave is of uniform wave height H and frequency f can be

successfully generated and could be validated by measuring the time series at various
distances from the wave maker. However, if a long-crested random wave were to be
generated, it would be given as linear superposition of regular wave components summed up
with a random phase. The measurement at various distances from the wave paddle would
show that the time series would not match with the input as well as with the other locations.
This is due to that the waves propagate according to its dispersive characters such that long
waves travel faster than a shorter wave. This would lead to change in the relative phase
differences among different wave components. This would lead to different time series at
various locations. However, the spectral energy at all locations would be same if there is no
energy loss due to friction or wave breaking.

4.2 Reproduction of Field waves

If the intention is to generate a wave time history from the field, then one needs to
incorporate phases. Also, the generation would be possible at only one specified location
away from the paddle. Near the wave paddles, evanescent waves would be present to
deteriorate the wave generation, which would diminish fast as the waves progress.
If is the linear model scale, then,
H* = H /
T* = T /

Let f be the field measured wave surface elevation that needs to be reproduced in the
laboratory for a specific purpose. If only the energy levels and mean wave frequency are to
be reproduced, the task is, to generate the wave spectrum, Sf (f) and then, to generate the
model spectrum using,
S ( f )

Sf ( f * )

where, the frequency (f*) of the field measured waves is model scaled as f* = f (*= ).
Then follows the simulation of using random phase method defined in the last section.
If the sequence of the waves are of interest, then the field waves can be reproduced at
a predefined location in the wave flume from the field measured phase ((f*)) of different
wave components, f*.

( x, t ) a n cos (k n x n t n )
n

Im F ( f (t ))

where, n ( f * ) tan 1
f
Re
F
(

(
t
))

It is to be noted that due to dispersive nature of the waves as discussed earlier, the
same sequence of the wave record can be reproduced only at a predefined reference location,
xr. The wave paddle time history should be obtained by keeping this in mind and hence, the
phase should be further modified so that the sequence of the waves can be successfully
simulated.
At the reference location, x=xr, ( x r , t ) a n cos (k n x r n t n )
n

At the paddle, x=0, (0, t )

cos ( nt n )

The paddle movement is defined by, x p (t )

n

an
sin (k n x r n t n )
TF ( f )

4.3 Standard spectrum

Based on the measured spectra and theoretical results, several standard forms have been
developed. This would provide a convenient platform for specifying the spectral
representation to represent a particular sea-state.

10

Bretschneider or ITTC spectrum

Bretschneider or ITTC spectrum is two parameters spectrum and is defined below:

S ( )

B
exp 4

where,
A 172.75

H char
691
and B 4
4
T
T

The two parameters here are the characteristic wave height, Hchar and the average wave
period, T .
The total energy content of the wave packet relates A and B.
i.e., mo

A
4B

Tz = 0.92 T
and, Hchar = 4 mo, which is the significant wave height for the case narrow banded spectrum.
But, the Bretschneider or ITTC two parameter spectrum is a broad band spectrum and
contains many frequencies upto higher components. In practice, the high frequency ripples
are neglected and the spectrum would become narrrow banded and hence, the assumption of
Hchar Hs is valid.
The peak period may be found by differentiating the wave spectrum for finding the maximum
(where slope is zero).
i..e.,

dS
d

p 4

4 B 4.849

5
T

Where, Tp=1.296 T =1.41T z.

Given the above representation and the relation between A & B for a fully developed
seastate, it can be stated as one parameter by redefining A as the Philip's constant.
A = 0.00811 g2 and B

3.11
.
H s2

This is due to the fact that in a fully developed sea state, each characteristic wave height is
associated with a corresponding characteristic wave period.

11

JONSWAP (JOint North Sea WAve Project)

The JONSWAP spectrum is developed based on the wave measurement in the North
Sea, in which the fetch is limited. It is based on the ITTC spectrum, but the JONSWAP has
narrower peak than the ITTC.
S ( ) 0.658 S ITTC ( )

where,
1
exp 2
2

with the peak enhancement factor, = 3.3 and,

0.07 if p

0.09 if p

Pierson-Moskowitz (PM) Spectrum

PM spectrum was developed by offshore industry for fully developed seas in the
North Atlantic generated by local winds. The PM spectrum is defined with nominal wind
speed, Uw in m/s at a height of 19.5m above the sea surface. Hence, it was developed as oneparameter (i.e., wind speed) spectrum. However, in practice, we use this as two parameter (Hs
and Tp) spectrum in which both Hs and Tp are defined in terms of Uw in a fully-developed sea.
The general spectral representation is same as defined for Bretschneider and the constants are
defined as follows.
The Philp's constant, A = 0.00811 g2
and, B

0.74 g 4
U w4

DNV Spectrum

DNV presented a more generalized spectral formulation with the above cases as
special cases. That is the peak enhancement factor, = 3.3 for JONSWAP and = 1.0 for PM
spectrum. is determined from the characteristics of the wave spectrum, i.e., Hs and Tp.

12


5.0

1.15Tp

exp 5.75

H2

1.0

S ( )

if

Tp
Hs

3.6

if 3.6

Tp

if 5.0

Tp

Hs

5.0

Hs

exp 4
5

where, and are generalized form of A and B defined earlier.

5
1 0.287 ln( ) H s2 p4
16

and,
5
4

p4

Before proceeding with an assumption of a particular form of a standard spectrum, one has to
keep in mind the following limitations on empirical spectra: fetch limitations; state of
development or decay; seafloor topography; local current and, effect of distant storms
(swells). It has to be noted that a developing sea has a broader spectral peak and a decaying
sea has a narrower peak.

5.0 REPRESENTATION OF DIRECTIONAL SEA

The sea surface elevation is assumed to be a zero mean stationary random Gaussion
process. The multi-directional wave climate can often be modelled by a linear superposition
of long-crested waves of all possible frequencies from all possible directions (Fig. 4.2), and it
is represented as

( x, y, t ) Re a nj exp i( k n x cos j k n y sin j n t nj )

n j

where kn, n and anj denote the wave number, frequency and amplitude of the nth wave
component approaching a given location (x,z) from the direction j. nj are random phases
with a uniform probability distribution and a nj 2 S ( , ) .

13

S(, ) is the specified directional wave spectrum and can be expressed as a product of an
energy spreading function D(,) and the specified unidirectional spectrum, S().
S(, ) = S() D(,)
Such that, directional wave is obtained as summation of energy from different frequency
band and directions (Fig. 3b).

()d S (, )dd m o

(4)

And, D(,) is the angular spreading function which is non negative and should satisfy the
relation

D ( , ) d 1

Fig.6. Superposition of long-crested waves approaching from different directions to

form short-crested waves [Mansard and Funke, 1989].

Table 1 lists the importance of study of multi-directional waves.

14

S (f,) = S(f).D(f,)
S (f,)
-90
-60
-30
0
30

f (Hz)

60
90

(deg)
Fig.7. Different directional wave spectral components

Table 1. Importance of study on multi-directional waves

Author
STRUCTURE
MAIN
(method)
CONCLUSIONS
Sway and roll force reduction in 3D up to
Isaacson Nwogu Long floating cylinder
0.41. Amplitudes of motions 57% of the
of arbitrary shape
(1987)
response of long-crested waves
(floating bridges or
(numerical)
breakwaters)
Isaacson Nwogu
(1989); Isaacson
et al (1988)
(numerical and
physical)

Forces on a pile
(slender members of
drilling rig)

Reduction factor for RMS values of

forces: in-line 0.87 and transverse 0.5, in
short-crested seas. Reasonable
comparison with theory.

Nowgu Isaacson
(1989)
(numerical and
physical)

Forces on a pile

Decreasing force maxima with increasing

spreading. For instance, the measured values
of the ratio of largest force maximum to the
standard deviation were 3.68 in long crested
seas and 3.31 in short crested.

Romeling Marol
Sand (1984)
(Physical)

Bi-articulated mooring
column

Huntington
(1981)
(Physical)

Single point mooring

Head-on condition: Sway, roll and yaw

twice as large in short crested seas, in high
freq. domain and three times, in low freq.
domain.
Forces on top of the column are nearly the
same in 2D and 3D. However large
transverse forces are seen in 3D. The
15

mooring forces are 2 to 2.5 times larger in

3D.
Significant increase in sway and yaw
motions and in mooring forces in 3D.
higher mooring forces in short crested seas
(more than double)

Houlie et al
(1983)
(Physical)

Single point mooring

Kirkegaard Sand
Ottesen-Hansen
(1980)
(Physical)

Fixed-Mooring Pier
barge

in head seas, sway and yaw motions are

twice in 3D. In beam seas the tendency
reverse: (ie) long crested wave induced
motions are higher Quartering seas not
much diff. except for the roll which has
probably increased. When using 3D it is
interesting to note that motions are similar
whether it is head on, beam or quartering
seas. Mooring forces are twice in 3D for
head on seas and vice versa in beam seas

Isaacson and
Sinha (1986)
(Numerical)

Large offshore floating

structures

Transverse components of the force and

response predicted to be zero in longcrested seas are significant in 3D. The
resultant forces and motions are reduced in
directional seas

Nwogu Isaacson
(1989)
(Numerical,
Physical)

floating barge

Increased roll, sway and yaw motions in

3D. Slight reduction in pitch. Surge
motions are reduced by 50% (mean) and
30% (RMS). The mean, RMS and
maxima of mooring loads are smaller by
37%, 25% and 21% respectively in 3D.

Sand-Roemeling
Kirkegaard
(1986)
(Physical)

semi-submersible

Near natural frequencies, heave pitch and

roll motions can be reduced by as much as
30% in 3D. Same is applicable to the total
in-line and transverse mooring forces. No
simple relation seems to exist between 2D
and 3D. In some situations the
directionality reduces the motions and
forces considerably in others very small
deviations or the 2D might even be the
less critical.

Standing Rowe
and Brendling
(1986)
(numerical,
physical)

Jacket structure

Traditionally sway motions and

accelerations in beam seas will provide the
critical design case and 2D is usually
conservative. However, results from this
study disprove that.

16

Van der Meer

(1989)
(Physical)

Harbour and moored

ship

Reduction in 3D: up to 70% in low

frequency amplitude and up to 75% in
surge motion

Sannasiraj et al.
(1995)
(Numerical,
Physical)

Long floating structures

Reduction in 3D: up to 40% reduction in

sway, heave and roll motions & 30%
reduction in mooring forces and low
frequency mooring forces reduce nearly to
one-third.

Theoretical Directional Spreading Function

Similar to the representation of frequency spectrum such as PM, Bretschneider, Jonswap,

etc., specific to different sea states, theoretical spreading functions were proposed for the
theoretical representation of the spreading functions. These functions are valid function if the
condition Eq. (5) is satisfied. Fig. 4 depicts a typical directional spreading function defined in
the interval -/2 to +/2.
The spreading functions are of two forms: independent of frequency, D() and dependent of
frequency, D(,). Similar to the standard frequency spectral formation, the spreading
functions can be represented in terms of single parameter, i.e., spreading parameter, s or more
parameters with the inclusion of peak frequency, fp, etc. However, note that, the spreading
functions are defined mostly with reference to the mean wave direction, o, where it is
assumed that the dominant energy focuses around the mean wave direction.
Following represents typical spreading functions.
1. Cosine power spreading function:
-

Independent of frequency and No free parameters

- Cos2 and Cos4 in the interval -/2 < - o < /2

If the mean direction is not perpendicular to the wave maker front, a substantial part
of the directional interval may not be covered.
D() = 2/ cos2 ( - o ) for -/2 < - o < /2
D() = 8/3 cos4 (-o ) for -/2 < - o < /2
Here note that, 2/ and 8/3 are normalizing constants.

17

2. Cosine square type spreading function Cos2s (/2)

- One parameter (s) and Independent of frequency.

The well established frequency independent cosine power type spreading function is defined
by,
N (s) cos2s ( o )
for o / 2

D ()
0
otherwise

where o is the mean wave direction. N(s) is the normalising coefficient defined in terms of
gamma function and 's' is the spreading index describing the degree of wave shortcrestedness with s , spreading function becomes narrower representing a long-crested
wave field.
N(s)

1 (s 1)
(s0.5)

The above form of the spreading function in a full range of directions (- to ) for deep
waters is given by,

D() =

22 s 1

2 ( s 1)
o
cos 2 s

(2s 1)
2

Since, both the above formulations consider the spreading function to be independent of
frequency; representation of directional spectrum close to reality is questionable. Realising
this problem, Mitsuyasu and Goda & Suzuki (1987) defined a frequency dependent spreading
function which basically has the same form as the cos2s() distribution except that the
spreading index, s, is a function of frequency.

3. Mitsuyasu spreading function

- same form as Cos2s (/2)

- One parameter and Dependent on frequency
Heres is dependent on frequency. Indicates the degree of directional energy
concentration
18

 s f f 5
for f f p
p
p
s( f )
2.5
s p f f p
for f f p
where fp is the peak frequency and the spreading parameter, sp belongs to a universal set of
constants applicable to different types of sea states defined in terms of wind speed, U, by

2 Ufp
sp = 115
.

2.5

where, g is the gravity and U is the wind speed. The spreading index s(f) is used to obtain
N(s) and D(,), respectively, for describing the directional spreading function dependent of
frequency.
's' takes a peak value around the frequency of the spectral peak and the value of 's' decreases
with the frequency moves away from the spectral peak towards both lower and higher
frequencies. Hence, it is dictated that the peak frequency wave components travel in a
narrower directional band around the mean wave direction and the lesser energy frequency
components might approach from wider directional band.
4. Goda spreading function

Similar to Mitsuyasu function except that sp is the universal set of constants

indicating different sea state conditions.
sp = 10 for wind waves
= 25 for swell from near distance
= 75 for swell from far distance.
5. Circular Gauss spreading function

- Similar to normal distribution.

1
exp[a cos( )]
D( )
2 I 0 (a )
where Io(a) is the Bessel function of the first kind of order zero, and a is the spreading
parameter. By comparison with the normal distribution with the variance 2, a 2.
As a increases, the spreading function becomes narrower.

19

D(,)

ky= k sin

m -

m -/2

m (f)
Fig.8. Directional spreading function, D(, )

m /2

FREQUENCY SPECTRAL PARAMETERS

In general, following the convention of one-dimensional frequency spectrum, the spectral

parameters related to frequency spectrum are defined in the usual style.
Define moments of the spectrum as below,

mn

S .
x

d ,

n=0,1,2,

Characteristic parameters of the spectrum can be evaluated tran spectra moments.

1. Significant wave height, H s 4 m0
Hrms = 2 2 mo

2. Mean wave period, T

m1
m0

3. characteristic frequency (or) zero crossing frequency, z

m2
m0

4. Peak frequency, p= 0.710 z for PM spectrum.

5. Spectral with parameter: is a measure of the rms with of a wave energy density
spectrum.

20

m0 m4 m22
m0 m 4

If 0.6, narrow landed

is nearly 1, broad landed
6. Spectral peakedness parameter:

Qp

2
s 2 df
m02 0

If is small, Qp is large & vice verse.

Problem 3:
Evaluate the cosine squared directional spreading function with mean wave direction of 20o.

5.1 GENERATION OF MULTI-DIRECTIONAL WAVES

The wave paddle motion for the simulation of directional waves is given by,
I

x p (n, t )

aij
TFobl ( f i , j )

sin(k i x r cos j t k i (nB y r ) sin j )

where, ai 2S ( i , j ) ; n indicates the number of position of the paddle; I is the

number of frequency components; J is the number of directions; S(,) is any standard or
measured spectrum; (xr,yr) is the coordinates of reproduction point in the wave basin.

21

Fig.9. Schematic outline of the 2D wave generating system

Fig.10. Plan view of the wave basin

22

Fig. 11. Sectional view of the wave basin

Fig.12. View of the wave basin and the position of the model

23

Fig.13. MEWM control system

Fig.14. Schematic layout of MEWM control system and data acquisition system

24

6.0 GENERATION OF FREAK WAVES

Freak waves are defined as waves with height larger than two times the significant
wave height (Kjeldsen 1990). They are characterised as single, remarkably horizontally
asymmetric and extreme high waves with the broadening of the spectral bandwidth (Yasuda
et al 1992). There are many evidences which show that freak waves exist in nature (Kjeldsen
1984). It is believed that the phenomenon occurs both in deep and shallow waters. Lot of
research has been carried out to find the exact cause of these freak waves, but it is still not
clear as to the cause of these waves. Sand et al (1990) proposed wave focusing due to waves
from various directions and superposition cause these waves. These waves are highly non
linear in nature. The wave heights are expected to be larger than that given by Raleighs
distribution (Dean 1990).

Simulation Procedure

Freak waves are simulated by considering several component waves that are configured such
that the maxima of all these waves appear at the same point the point where the freak wave
is desired. This assures that the maximum wave height will occur at that point. Using the
linear progressive wave theory, the wave height and orbital velocity are calculated. Sufficient
number of constituent waves is taken so that in the time series there is only one large peak the freak wave. The following factors need to be considered.
a. The wave generators range of time periods and wave heights
b. Restriction in movement of the wave generator paddles
c. Peaks are located based on the positive maximum and negative minimum and
waves between zero up crossing points is taken as one wave.
Input data can be one of the following:
- Wave data file containing the number of component waves, and for each wave, the wave
height, the period and the direction.
- The number of waves and the position of the freak wave required. The number of
frequencies and the directions can also be specified, the program generates the wave data
with this given data.

7.0 GENERATION OF BREAKING WAVES

Wave breaking in the deep ocean may result from direct wind forcing (Banner and
Phillips 1974), wave current interaction (Longuet-Higgins and Stewart 1964, Skyner and
25

Easson 1998) and wave-wave interaction (Longuet-Higgins 1974, Melville 1982). Though
wind forcing plays a role in provoking breaking in the field, it was difficult to bring this field
condition to the laboratory. We chose to simulate breaking through wave-wave interactions.
The temporally constructive interference proposed by Longuet-Higgins (1974) provided the
principal methodology in the generation of a localised, unsteady breaking wave, resembling
the breaking in the field (Rapp and Melville, 1990). This methodology of wave focusing was
widely used for the simulation of an isolated and repeatable two-dimensional breaker within a
wave packet (Longuet-Higgins 1974, Greenhow and Vinje 1982, Chan and Melville 1988,
Rapp and Melville 1990 and Kway et al., 1998). It had been extended to the generation of
three-dimensional breaker by adding directionality, i.e. spatial focusing and diffraction, to the
wave evolution (Nepf et al. 1998 and Wu 1999).
The fundamental experiments for studying two-dimensional wave breaking, apart from
wind-generated waves, fall into three main categories: (1) the focusing of essentially twodimensional waves in the lateral direction (Ramberg & Griffin 1987). (2) The towing of a
submerged object, such as a hydrofoil to produce steady breakers (Duncan 1981; 1983). (3)
The focusing of variable length waves from a modulated or chirped wave maker to produce
unsteady breakers (Duncan et al. 1994, Rapp & Melville 1990, Skyner et al. 1990, Baldock et
al. 1995, Greenhow et al. 1982) or the overturning of an irregular wave train (Ochi & Tsai
1983, Bonmarin 1989) to produce unsteady breakers.
One of the most extensive laboratory of unsteady deep water wave breaking is the
work of Rapp & Melville 1990. The dispersive character of deep water waves was used to
focus a wave packet and to generate a single unsteady breaking event at a controlled location
in the wave channel.
Several methodologies have been used in the past to simulate wave breaking in the
laboratory. Steady spilling breakers have been produced by the relative motion of a
submerged hydrofoil and the surrounding fluid (Duncan, 1981; Battjes and Sakai, 1981) and
by the steady motion of a surface piercing hull (Longuet-Higgins, 1974). On the other hand,
focusing the wave energy in space can generate unsteady breaking waves. For twodimensional waves, the energy may be focused by a laterally converging channel wall (Van
Dorn and Pazan, 1975; Milgram, 1977) or by a longitudinal focusing caused by the frequency
dispersion (Longuet-Higgins, 1974; Kjeldsen et al., 1980). Given the complexity of wave
breaking, it is advantageous to study wave breaking in the absence of wind and bottom
26

boundary influences. This can be achieved through the methodology of wave focusing (Chan
and Melville 1988, Skyner et al. 1990). This technique used is, in principle similar to that
described by Longuet-Higgins (1974) where wave energy is focused longitudinally by
linearly decreasing the wavemaker frequency and thus increasing the group velocity of the
generated waves leading to a focusing of energy. In this study, modulated wave packets were
generated by summing up sinusoidal wave components of discrete frequencies. Making use
of frequency dispersion given by linear theory, the relative phases were chosen such that all
wave crests arrive simultaneously at a point in space and time such that constructive
interference occurred at the desired location. Using this method, the resultant wave is
extremely repeatable in time and space.
The free surface displacement, (x,t), from linear theory, was given by
(7.1)

( x, t ) a n cos(k n x 2f n t n ) ,
n 1

where

= number of wave components

an

= amplitude of the nth frequency component

kn

= wave number

fn

= nth frequency component

= phase angle

kn and fn are related by the dispersion relation

(2f n ) 2 k n g tanh(k n d ) ,
where

(7.2)

= gravitational constant

= water depth

The phase of each component was computed by setting

cos(k n xb 2f n t b n ) 1 ,
where

(7.3)

xb

= theoretical wave breaking location

tb

= time of occurrence of wave breaking

This yielded

n k n xb 2f n t b 2m

(m = 0, 1, 2,)

(7.4)

and the surface displacement becomes

(7.5)

( x, t ) a n cos[k n ( x xb ) 2f n (t t b )] .
n 1

27

The discrete frequency, fn, for each wave component can be equally spaced across a
bandwidth. The amplitude in each wave component, an, could be simplified depending on the
spectral distribution adopted.
By defining the mean paddle position to be x = 0, the desired surface displacement at the
N

paddle was

(0, t ) an cos[ kn xb 2 f n (t tb )]

(7.6)

n 1

The theoretical surface displacements generated based on the equations above was converted
to the input signals by a conversion factor called the Amplitude Transfer Function (ATF),
which is a function of the frequency.
To eliminate any abrupt paddle movement, the first and last two seconds of the input
signal was tapered with a half cosine bell function. The signal was normalized by the
maximum voltage generated for easy alterations of the gain in each paddle.
The desired wave packet can be generated using any computer controlled wave
simulation system. The success, however, depends on the careful incorporation of the wave
maker transfer function. In addition, the variable tb has to be chosen systematically in order to
ensure that the paddle motion starts with a relatively small stroke. The effect of changing tb is
to delay or advance the entire wave signal with no influence on the theoretical focal point, xb.
Although the breaking distance xb was specified in the input to the algorithm,
deviation in the breaking location from that predicted by linear theory was expected due to
nonlinear effects, which became important as the amplitude is increased. Another point to
note was that because the breaking distance xb, had to be adjusted in order to observe
different stages of breaking within a glass panel, it was realized that fine tuning had to be
done separately for wave packets with different breaking distances.

Fig.15. Typical theoretically simulated breaking wave time history

28

8.0 GENERATION OF WAVE GROUPS

In the recent past, the researchers found that, even though, the spectral energy is
maintained constant, the sequence of waves in a wave train is also important in designing a
structure. One such wave train is a group of waves, commonly called as wave groups. In the
study of ocean waves, the wave surface elevations are assumed as normal processes, but the
groupiness of a normal process is always poor.
Till late seventies, testing of structures due to random waves were carried out without
considering the effect of wave groups until the failure of sines breakwater in Portugal. It was
revealed that the failure of this breakwater was partially attributed to the effect of the action
of wave groups on the structure which results in continuous oscillation of the armour unit,
finally, leading to their rolling down causing instability of the primary layer. The grouped
waves induce a large low frequency motion of a moored structure such as a floating
breakwater or a semi-submersible body. This is because the natural period of the structure is
close to the modulation period of natural waves.
The simulation of irregular waves with a specified target spectrum is adequately
reported in the literature, while the studies on the wave groups are limited. Goda (1970, 1976
and 1983) discussed in detail the importance of the study on wave groups and the effect of
wave groups on structures. The simulation of wave groups in laboratory was carried out
initially by Funke and Mansard (1980) and their method was termed as SIWEH (Smooth
Instantaneous Wave Energy History). This method was found relevant only for specifying
the height rather than the length of the wave group. Since then, a number of works [Mase et
al. (1983) and Nolte and Hsu (1972)] have been reported on the simulation of wave groups.
Xu et al. (1993) have recently proposed the simulation of wave groups in which both its
length and the height are considered.
A procedure to simulate the presence of wave groups in a wave train is discussed. The
wave groups are simulated using the envelope approach with predefined spectral
characteristics. The wave envelope is computed from the time series of wave elevation using
Hilbert transform technique. In this approach [Xu et al. (1993)], the spectral characteristics of
waves and wave envelope time histories form the basis for the methodology. In order to
identify the wave group, the group height factor (GHF), the relative height of the group and
the group length factor (GLF), the relative length of the group are defined.

Envelope Time History

29

The envelope series can be obtained from the wave elevation time history using
Hilbert transform. The displacement of a narrow-banded sea surface is represented by

( t ) Re a ( t ) e i( t )

(8.1)

where,

( t) ( t)
2

(8.2)

( t )
( t ) tan 1

( t )

(8.3)

a( t)

where a(t) and (t) are real functions of time t, representing the envelope and phase of (t);
and (t) is the Hilbert transform of (t), defined as
( t )

1 ( t )
d
P
t

(8.4)

where P denoting the Cauchy principle value of the integral evaluated at = t. It has been
proved that the Fourier transform of (t ) i (t ) can be written as
2 F (t )
F (t ) i (t )
0

for 0
for 0

(8.5)

where is the wave angular frequency. By using the Hilbert transform, it is easy to evaluate
(t), and then a(t) and (t) from (t).
In general, the sea surface displacements deviate from the normal distribution, and
from a single spectrum it is possible to generate a number of wave trains with markedly
different groupiness.

Characteristic Factors of Wave Groups

A simple way of representation of length of a wave group is by the factors run and run
length. A group of high waves is referred as a run, and its length is measured in terms of the
number of successive high waves which exceed a certain magnitude.
The characteristics of a wave group can be effectively specified using two factors, i.e.
group height and group length. Funke and Mansard (1979) presented a groupiness factor (GF)
to describe the degree of wave groups.
GF

m a ,o

(8.6)

m ,o

30

The group height factor (GHF) characterizes the relative height of wave groups and is defined
following the notations of Funke and Mansard (1979) as
GHF

m a ,o

(8.7)

m ,o

If (t) is assumed to be normal process, it can be shown that

GHF = 2 - (2/) 0.43

(8.8)

Thus, for the normal process, GHF is a constant. But it is reasonable to consider GHF to be a
variable, rather than a constant for the sea surface with marked wave groups. The values of
GHF for real wave groups, however, should not differ much from 0.43, because a sea surface
does not deviate far from a normal process.
Similarly, the group length factor (GLF) characterizes the relative length of wave groups and
is defined in terms of peak wave frequency, as this represents a narrow-banded process which
depends largely on its spectral peak frequency.
GLF

fp

(8.9)

f a ,p

where fp and fa,p are the peak frequencies of wave and envelope spectra, respectively.
Wave Group Simulation Procedure

The procedure to simulate a wave group with the predefined group characteristics is as
follows:
Step 1: The time series of (t) and a(t) are generated using method of superposition or Fast
Fourier Transform, from the specified target wave spectrum S() and envelope spectrum
Sa(), respectively. The time series should be made zero means.
Step 2: Compute zeroth spectral moments m,o and ma,0 from S() and Sa(), respectively,
and

hence, evaluate GHF using Eqn.(7).

Step 3: Evaluate (t) from (t) using Eqn.(5) and then, a(t) and (t) are obtained according to
Eqn.(3).
Step 4: The envelope as(t) is computed using
as(t) = a(t) + ~as
where as m ,o / 2

(8.10)
1

(8.11)

Step 5: The wave group 1(t) is constructed with as (t) as an envelope and (t) as a phase
function.

31

1 (t) = as(t) cos(t)

(8.12)

On the assumption of gaussian distribution of sea waves, the simulated time series is
expected to deviate from target in terms of spectral characteristics. The remedial procedure to
correct the deviation in GHF is described below.
Step 1: Evaluate S1() from the time history of 1(t) using FFT and estimate its zeroth
moment

m1 ,0 .

Step 2: Compute the envelope as(t)

as(t) = a(t) + ~a s'

where a s' (m1 ,0 mo ) / 2

(8.13)

(8.14)

mo = m,o - m1 ,0

(8.15)

Step 3: The corrected wave group 2(t) is constructed with as(t) as an envelope and (t) as a
phase function. The new signal is,
2 (t) = as(t) cos(t)

(8.16)

In most of the practical situations, the time series is required to correct only once.
While in the cases where accuracy is not obtained, the above procedure can be applied more
than once.
As GHF characterises height of wave groups, the relative height of wave groups is
rather sensitive to GHF; a larger GHF corresponds to a higher wave group. It is to be noted
that the deviation in simulated significant wave height is observed to be more as GHF is
increasing. It is to conclude thus that the simulation procedure fails for larger values of GHF,
as this could not maintain the target characteristics. On observing the variation of GLF, for
constant value of GHF, for the accurate simulation of wave groups, GLF should be more,
GLF << 1. The group length increases as the group height decreases.
The simulation procedure is applicable to the cases in which sea surface elevation is
represented by narrow-banded spectra. The envelope spectral peak should be sufficiently low
to keep the value of GLF more. The group height decreases with increase in group length.

32

Wave
Envelope

(m)

0.08

-0.08
0

10

15

20

25
30
time (s)

35

40

45

50

Fig.16. Typical theoretically simulated wave groups

9.0 SHALLOW WATER WAVE GENERATION IN THE LABORATORY

According to the water depth conditions, the wave theories are classified into deep
water and shallow water wave theories. This is based on the water depth to wave length ratio
(d/L). Small amplitude wave theory developed by Airy in 1845 which can be applied for all
ranges of d/L. Finite amplitude wave theories are complicated due to the relative importance
of the additional parameters namely H/d and H/L. Keulegen and Carpenter classified finite
amplitude wave theories depending on d/L as shown in Fig. 17.
1/20

1/2
Deep waters

Intermediate waters
H/L, H/d

L, H/L

Shallow waters
H/d, d

Cynoidal theory
1/10

Stokian theory

Solitary
1/50

Fig.17. Regions of validity of finite amplitude wave theories.

33

Small amplitude wave theory was based on the premises that motions are sufficiently
small to allow the free surface boundary condition to be linearised, i.e., the terms involving
wave amplitude to the second order and higher orders are considerably negligible. If the wave
amplitude is large, it is a must to retain higher order terms to obtain an accurate
representation of wave motion.
The nonlinearity of the wave increases with increase in the convective inertia term, which is
basically controlled by three important ratios namely, H/L, H/d and L/d. In which H is the
wave height. For the case of deepwater conditions (generally small H/d and small L/d) the
most important parameter that governs the nonlinearity is H/L, which is also called as wave
steepness. As we move on from deep to shallow waters, the effect of wave steepness is less
than the most significant parameter H/d, which is termed as the relative height. This is due to
fact that the waves starts feeling the sea bed and hence whose influence on the variation of
the wave characteristics are considered to be important. Obviously, the nonlinearity of wave
profile is dictated by both H/L and H/d in the intermediate water depths. With the above
discussion, it is clear that the relative importance of the convective inertia term can be
described by both the ratios, H/L and H/d. Based on the ratio of wave elevation from the first
and second order wave theories, a common parameter, which is the so-called Ursell
parameter, widely used to classify the linear and nonlinear wave theories exist in both deep
and shallow water. One can also replace H with maximum elevation of wave surface above
still water level (0), which will exactly be H/2 for the linear theory. Which means that if Ur
<<1 then the linear small amplitude theory applies. The Ursell parameter, however, can be
described as simple guide but not necessarily sufficient judging the relative importance of the
nonlinear effects. The clear demarcation of the different wave theories along with the
limitations of wave height and period is indicated in Fig.19 [LeMehaute (1976)]. The
characteristics of cnoidal waves are significant, if d/L < 1/8 (d/L < 0.125) and Ur > 26.0
(LeMehaute, 1976., Chakrabarti, 1987).

34

Application of wave theories based on Ursells parameter (Wilson, 1963)

Ursells dimensionless parameter =

Wave theories

o L2
d3

o L2

d3

Airys wave theory

< 0.505

<1

<

gd

Stokess theory

< 0.635

< 30

gd

> 10

gd

= 1.33

Solitary wave theory

0.635 <

o
H

>1

=1

1.000

Shallow
water
wave

d/T2 = 0.076

Cnoidal wave theory

gd

Stokes 4th order

Stokes 3rd order

Stokes 2nd order

d/T2 = 0.256

H/T2 (ft/sec2)

Br
ea
ki
ng

Cr
ite
rio
n

0.100

Deep
water
wave

0.010

Ur=500
Airy Theory
(Linear)
Ur=1
Ur=20
0.001
0.01

0.10

1.00
d/T2 (ft/sec2)

Fig.18. Limits of validity of wave theories

35

10.00

Solitary wave theory

In very shallow waters, wave crests become peaked and trough flattened. Entire crest
is above SWL and the absence of the trough is particular case of shallow water wave, called
solitary wave.
Solitary wave has proved useful in engineering problems such as the study of very
long waves like tsunamis and in determining wave properties near breaking in shallow water
and for studying waves of maximum steepness in deep waters. Under such conditions, the
wave characteristics are independent of L and T and depends only on H and d.
H b 0.78 d

(9.1)

c 2g (H d )

(9.2)

KdV Models

An asymptotic approximation of the Euler equations in the limit of weak dispersion

and weak nonlinearity is the well-known Korteweg-deVries equation:

t co x

3co
1
x h 2 co xxx 0.
2h
6

(9.3)

Equation (11) is for right-running waves only; a similar KdV equation applies to left-running
waves. The solitary-wave solution of (11) is:

3ao

x ct ,
3
4h

( x, t ) ao sec h 2

(9.4)

in which, ao = H, x is origin at crest, and the speed of the wave is:

a
c c o 1 o .
2h

(9.5)

Wayne & Wright (2004) have shown formally that, to the KdV order of weak nonlinearity
and dispersion, left-running and right-running solitary waves interact linearly during their
collision. Hence, we will use linear superposition as an approximate model of head-on
collisions for comparison with the fully nonlinear, numerical solutions of the Euler equations.
The motion of the wave-maker was programmed to generate a solitary wave by
forcing a (horizontal) velocity field in the water that is close to that occurring during
passage of a solitary wave. We adopted a procedure similar to that introduced by Goring &
Raichlen (1980), which accounts in part for the finite displacement of the wave-maker paddle

36

and the propagation of the wave during generation. Generation was based on the KdV
solitary wave whose horizontal velocity field is given by:

2 3u0
u(x, t) u0 sec h
x c0t 1 u0t ,
2
2
4h0c0

(9.6)

in which ho is the quiescent water depth, c o gho , g is gravitational acceleration, ao is the

wave amplitude, and u o a oc o ho is the maximum horizontal velocity. The displacement xp of
the wave-maker paddle from its initial position (x=0) is then found numerically by solving the
differential equation:

x p (t) u(x p , t) ,

(9.7)

which gives the Lagrangian path of a water particle. Figure 1 shows the resulting paddle
motion (solid line) for a solitary wave used in both the head-on and following collision
experiments with ao=2cm and ho=5cm. For convenience we also show (dashed line) the linear
approximation of Equation (1).

Fig.19. Wave-maker displacement for ao=2cm. Solid line is solution of Equation (1).
Dashed line is linear approximation.

37

C = [g(h+H)]1/2
H

= H sech2[(3H/4h3)1/2(Ct-x)]

p/ = h + - s
s

u = C/(h+)

Fig.20. Solitary wave profile.

H+h

Stroke = [16Hh/3]1/2

u = CH/(h+H)

F/b = (H+h)2/2
h

Fig.21. Wave Board: Maximum Conditions

38

Generation of Solitary waves

The generation of solitary waves by prescribing the piston type wave-maker motion
can be determined from the first-order solitary wave theory used by Goring (1978). The
displacement of wave-maker is given by;
x p (t)
( t )

H

tanh ( t ) tanh

(9.8)

(9.9)

ct x p ( t )
d

Where H is the wave height,

3H
and celerity, c g (d H)
4d

The initial motion of the wave paddle is controlled by choosing a location where the
theoretically infinitely long solitary wave is truncated. If at the place of truncation the height
1
is z H / d , then it turns out that /d=l/, where l cosh 1
.
z
It is clear from the Eqns (1) and (2) that they are implicit in xp and , which can be
solved by using Newton-Raphson method. According to Grilli and Svendsen (1990), the
value of z can be taken as 0.002.

Design conditions:

H = 0.8 m, h = 1.0 m

Stroke = [16Hh/3]1/2 = 2.07 m

C = [g(h+H)]1/2 = 4.20 m/sec

F/b = g(H+h)2/2 = 15,892 Newtons/m

For b = .91 m (3 ft), F = 14,462 Newtons

Peak Power = F * u = 27,044 N m/sec

Total Power = Peak Power * # Boards (29) = 784,269 N m/sec = 784 Kilowatts =

u = CH/(h+H) = 1.87 m/sec

1052 HP

Generation of Cnoidal waves

For the generation of cnoidal waves, the displacement of the piston type wave paddle is given
as,
x p (t )

L
2Ke d

( yt d ) m ( E ( / m) m ' )

39

(3)

 t x p (t)

2K e

T
L

(4)

In which, E(/m) is the second incomplete elliptic integral and m is the complementary
parameter, m=1-m. In the above equations, m is the elliptic parameter, T is the wave period,
L is the wavelength, yt is the distance to the trough from the bottom and Ke is the first
complete elliptic integral. Both the above said equations are also of implicit and should be
solved by Newton-Raphson method. However, the most important problem in the cnoidal
wave generation is to find out the m for a given T and H. This can be estimated by using trial
and error method suggested by Goring (1978) or from Weigel (1964), Sarpkaya and Isaacson
(1981).

Generation of Stokes waves

Though Stokes waves are belongs to deep water conditions, by looking at the Fig. 1,
there are dotted lines denoting the values of Ursell parameter. Hence, cnoidal waves of Ur
below 26 are falling in the regions of Stokes wave theory. So, one can selected wave
parameters with in the region for the generation of Stokes waves using the Eqns (3) and (4).

References

Chakrabarti, S.K., 1987, Hydrodynamics of offshore structures, Computational mechanics

publications, Southampton, Boston.
Funke, E.R. and Mansard, E.P.D. (1979) On the Synthesis of realistic sea states in a
laboratory flume. Report LTR-HY-66, National Research Council, Canada.
Goda, Y. (1976) On Wave Groups. Behaviour of Offshore Structures, BOSS76, The
Norwegian Institute of Technology, 115-128.
Goda, Y. (1983) Analysis of Wave Grouping and Spectra of Long-travelled Swell. Report of
the port and harbour research institute, 22 (1).
Goda, Y. Random Seas and Design of Marine Structures. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo,
1970.
Goring, D.G., 1978, Tsunamis- the propagation of long waves onto a shelf, Ph.D thesis of the
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California.
Grilli, S.T and Svendsen, I.A., 1990, Corner problems and global accuracy in the boundary
element solutions of nonlinear water waves, Engineering analysis with boundary
elements, Vol. 7 (4), pp.178-195.
LeMehaute, B., 1976, An introduction to hydrodynamics and water waves, Springer-Verlag,
New York.
Mase, H., Kita, N. and Iwagaki, Y. (1983) Random wave simulation considering wave
groups. Coastal Engineering in Japan, 26, 61-75.

40

Nolte, K.G. and Hsu, F.H. (1972) Statistics of ocean wave groups. Proc. Fourth Offshore
Technology Conference, Dallas, 637.
Sarpkaya, T and Isaacson, M., 1981, Mechanics of wave forces on offshore structures, Van
Norstrand Reinhold company.
Weigel, R.L., 1964, Oceanographical engineering, Prentice-Hall, Inc./ Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Xu, D., Hou, W., Zhao, M. and Wu, J. (1993) Statistical simulation of wave groups. Applied
Ocean Research, 15, 217-226.

41