Wave Tank Study of Moored Buoy Hulls for Air-Sea Interaction Applications

Measurements of atmospheric and oceanic parameters for Air-Sea interaction studies are made from deep sea moored surface buoys. The buoys support a set of meteorological sensors. Self recording instruments inserted in the mooring line monitor water temperature and oceanic currents. Because of constant wave action, the instruments on the buoy and in the line undergo repeated motions which introduce large noise levels and sometimes shake the instruments close to destruction. Tests have been recently conducted at the Wave Research Facility of the Oregon State University to observe the response of moored buoys and assess the impact of buoy shape and mooring attachment on the motion of the sensors. This paper presents the rationales for the selection of the hull shapes, and the considerations for scaling and modeling the buoys. A novel approach for modeling the mooring line is explained. A review is made of the data acquisition and processing techniques. A summary of the test results concludes the paper.