A Piston-Type Active Absorbing Wavemaker System with Delay Compensation

Physical model tests with highly reflective structures often encounter a problem of multiple reflections between the structures and the wavemaker. This paper presents a piston-type active absorbing wavemaker system which can absorb most of the reflections. Based on the first-order wavemaker theory, a frequency domain absorption transfer function is modeled. Its time realization can be achieved by designing an IIR digital filter, which is used to control the absorbing wavemaker system. In a real system, time delays often exist in the wave making process. Thus a delay compensation term to the transfer function is proposed. Experimental results show that the system performs well for both regular and irregular waves with periods from 0.6 s to 2.0 s, and the absorption capability is larger than 96.5% at target wave fields.