Applying site-specific resource assessment : emulation of representative EMEC seas in the FloWave facility

The realism of wave tank tests can be improved by the use of site-specific buoy data. However, representing and reproducing vast quantities of complex wave buoy data within practical time constraints can be challenging. In this paper the process of classifying, generating and measuring 'representative' directional spectra in FloWave is presented. Two years of buoy data, from the European Marine Energy Centre, Orkney, UK, is manipulated to give a small number of groups. It is shown that the resulting complex representative sea states can be generated effectively in the FloWave tank