MRI: Track 1: Acquisition of a Wave and Current Generation System to Enhance Coastal and Ocean Engineering Research and Training

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant will support the acquisition of a combined wave generation and current circulation system for interdisciplinary research and for training graduate and undergraduate students. The system will contribute new knowledge in coastal and ocean science and engineering, improving the resilience of coastal communities, enhancing the health of coastal ecosystems, and advancing novel technologies in ocean engineering. The instrument will include a wave maker, a current circulation system, and a flume to contain the water and guide the flow. This wave and current flume system will enable the study of interactions between flow and natural elements, such as aquatic vegetation, coral reefs, and sediments. The instrument will also simulate fluid-structure interactions, where structures may include near-coast buildings, coastal protection measures like breakwaters and seawalls, nature-based solutions, and ocean engineering technologies such as wave energy converters or autonomous underwater vehicles. This new facility will foster regional collaborations in research and education that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries, encompassing engineering as well as physical and biological sciences, and will involve four universities. This grant will contribute to U.S. society by supporting fundamental research in critical areas for the U.S. economy, namely coastal resiliency and ocean renewable energy, while also training a STEM workforce through a cross-disciplinary approach. The wave and current flume (WCF) system will allow for the simulation of scaled-down waves and currents to conduct fundamental research on interactions between flow and natural and built features. The wave maker can generate monochromatic and random waves, while the current circulation system can produce co- or counter-propagating currents relative to the wave direction, enabling realistic modeling of wave-current interactions. Fundamental knowledge gaps in coastal and ocean engineering and science will be addressed using the WCF system. The instrument will be applied in several projects, including: (1) studying how aquatic vegetation in saltmarshes, as a natural barrier, reduces loads on near-coast structures, establishing a relationship between flood loads and vegetation properties; (2) examining how aquatic vegetation in sand dunes affects flow-sediment interaction and erosion, and parametrizing bed shear stress as a function of flow and vegetation properties; and (3) quantifying the performance of novel wave energy converter concepts. The instrument will also enable training for graduate and undergraduate students and will support coastal resilience and the blue economy in Virginia and nationwide. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.