Design and testing of an economical wave generation facility

This project explores the design and construction of a water wave generation facility, completed at a very low cost. For less than ^S 800, an embedded control system guiding a piston-type wavemaker in a small laboratory wave channel was designed and constructed. Wave generation presently relies on a PID position control algorithm, backed by linear wavemaker theory and paddle position feedback. Results show that the system closely tracked expected positions and velocities, but algorithm modifications to improve temporal response are needed to improve high-frequency performance. Finally, all of the necessary hardware components required for future integration of simultaneous active wave absorption have been included in the design.