Real-time wave prediction, an experimental campaign at LHEEA’s wave tank

Several scientists from LHEEA lab (Centrale Nantes - CNRS UMR), MIO lab (Aix-Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS, IRD UMR), SIREHNA (Naval Group) and DGA have been working together since January 2016 on the collaborative project Predemo-Nav. This project is developing the tools and sensors able to build up a prediction system for the real-time motion of ships at sea. The developments range from remote measurements of incident waves, their propagation in space and time, to the evaluation of responses for various ships in those conditions. 

The Hydrodynamic and Ocean Engineering Tank of Centrale Nantes is currently hosting an experimental campaign in order to provide a small-scale database of sea states for validation of the wave prediction numerical model. The wave tank is indeed able to reproduce accurately realistic sea states conditions over few square kilometers and ranging up to 10m significant wave height at full scale. 
 
An operational prediction tool for wave propagation and ship response is a valuable asset for the safety and operational capacities of various maritime activities. Predicting lulls between wave groups participates for instance in the success of docking operations, while predicting the energetic income from wave groups enhances the performances of converters as sea, such as wave energy converters or floating wind turbines.