Generation of controlled irregular wave crest statistics in experimental and numerical wave tanks

In the context of ocean engineering studies or ocean wave physics research, irregular wave fields are generated in experimental and numerical wave tanks. In these environments, a wave maker generates the waves and the wave field is studied at a target position X, further in the tank. Therefore, the properties of the wave fields need to be controlled at X. The state-of-the-art wave generation procedures focus on accurately generating a target wave energy spectrum. However, the wave field is also characterized by its statistical features (crest height distribution, free surface elevation probability density function) that cannot be retrieved from the wave spectrum. To tackle this issue, the present paper introduces a new wave generation procedure that makes use of the natural spatial evolution of the wave statistics to generate at any target location X a controlled spectrum and a controlled crest distribution. The procedure is tested experimentally and numerically. The results validate the methodology for non-breaking unidirectional wave conditions, for experimental, numerical, and hybrid numerical/experimental configurations.