Improved transient water wave technique for the experimental estimation of ship responses

We consider the transient water wave technique for the experimental determination of response amplitude operators (RAOs) of a floating structure. The main advantage of this technique, which consists of generating a wave focused near the model and analyzing the resulting motions, is that only a single test is required to accurately estimate the RAOs in a wide frequency range. The focused wave, however, may produce nonlinear effects. We thus propose an improved method in which the response is linearized by means of crest and trough focusing. The method is applied to a model barge and compared to other classical methods such as regular, random and transient waves. Based on criteria like accuracy, time required and ease of use, the focused wave technique appears to provide many advantages to determine RAOs.