Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Open Access Master's Report

Degree Name

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MS)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Advisor 1

Gordon G. Parker

Committee Member 1

Chad M. Walber

Committee Member 2

Jim DeClerck

Abstract

Water surface waves exert a pressure oscillation that decreases with depth. Pressure measurements can be used to estimate wave elevation and frequency, which can then be used to (1) implement feedback for wave energy converter control strategies and (2) quantify the potential for converting waterbed pressure fluctuations into electrical energy. This report examines the use of an off-the-shelf piezo-electric hydrophone to estimate wave elevation from pressure data. Experiments were carried out in a wave tank with various wave amplitudes, frequencies, and hydrophone depths. Wave gauges, with a resolution of $\pm 0.5$ mm, measured the wave height above the hydrophone. The accuracy of the wave elevation estimates was found to depend on frequency but was unaffected by the hydrophone’s depth. This frequency dependence was not related to the hydrophone’s frequency response. A likely cause was the exponentially decreasing pressure and the subsequent reduced hydrophone signal, approaching its noise floor.

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