A Low - Cost Wave - Sediment - Towing Tank

The design and construction of a small wave-sediment tank, built and instrumented for under $10,000, is described. The tank is equipped with a piston-type wavemaker, capable of producing both small-amplitude and solitary waves. The middle section of the tank contains a sediment bed appropriate for wave-soil-structure interaction and sediment transport experiments. Wave energy is absorbed by a gravel beach located at the opposite end of the tank from the wavemaker. Instrumentation includes three capacitive wave height gauges. The wavemaker is controlled by a desktop computer, which also provides data-logging capability. Applications of this wave-sediment tank to research into grounded ship migration and barge added-mass are presented. INTRODUCTION A wave tank with a sediment bed was constructed primarily to conduct experiments into the wave-induced migration of grounded ships. The center section of the tank started life as a sand seepage tank in the soil mechanics laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. When a replacement was acquired by the Civil Engineering Department, the old seepage tank was slated for disposal. It was, however, salvaged to become the core of the wave-sediment-towing tank. This paper describes the design, construction, and testing of the tank and associated equipment, and discusses examples of its application to experimental research. 1 Naval Architect, David Taylor Model Basin, 9500 MacArthur Boulevard, West Bethesda, Maryland 20817-5700, [email protected] 2 Research Professor, Civil Engineering Department, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, [email protected] 3 Research Assistant, Civil Engineering Department, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, [email protected]