Stereo Reconstruction Method for 3D Surface Wave Fields around a Floating Body Using a Marker Net in a Wave Tank

Spatial wave fields around floating bodies are important for the understanding of hydrodynamics, and particularly the wave drift forces, of floating bodies in waves; however, experimental measurement of these fields is challenging. This paper presents a stereo reconstruction method for three-dimensional (3D) surface wave fields around floating bodies in a wave tank. Styrofoam markers were attached to a flexible net in a regular grid, called a marker net, and were placed on the water surface to be used as targets for stereo cameras (SCs). A thin plate spline was applied to the markers detected by the SCs to reconstruct the 3D surface wave profile around a floating body model. The proposed method was validated by measuring the wave field around a cylindrical floating body with a footing at its bottom. These experiments were conducted under regular wave incidence conditions. A wave elevation time series measured using a servo-controlled wave gauge was used as the benchmark data. The 3D surface wave field reconstruction method was applied under three different conditions: without the model, with a fixed model, and with a freely oscillating model. The results showed reliable reconstructions of the scattering and radiation waves. The marker net’s effects on the floating body’s motion and the surrounding wave fields were shown to be negligible by comparing the results acquired with and without the marker net.