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Advancesteel7/13/2023 ![]() Joe Long, director of UNCW's Coastal Engineering program ![]() With this equipment, students will be able to see complex concepts that we explain in the classroom up close and use the facility as part of research projects. We can’t put a structure in place, run a wave condition, then change the structure and run the same wave condition to see if the performance changed. In nature, we can’t follow an individual wave or stop the waves to measure where the sand has moved. “The controlled and repeatable environment of the wave flume will also positively impact areas of research like instrument development design of natural and nature-based features like seagrass marshes and living shorelines and developing and testing computer models for how coastlines will evolve,” the release adds. It is the only flume of its size in the southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the country. Researchers can also add sand to study how waves affect the ocean floor by creating turbulence and currents that move sediment and by creating sandbars.”Ī video detailing the installation of the wave flume, and how it operates, can be found here. “The flume can be programmed to mimic nature with calm or more energetic waves, and the slope of the bottom can be adjusted to better understand how waves break under different conditions. ![]() The flume provides the university with a crucial laboratory piece, completing the “trifecta” of field measurements, numerical modeling and controlled laboratory experiments that are needed for research. “Spanning nearly 80 feet long and 5 feet wide, the glass and steel tank, which can be seen off the main lobby of the department’s newly constructed building, holds 9,500 gallons of water -the equivalent of over 160 bathtubs full- and is just as aesthetically pleasing as it is useful.” “UNCW students and faculty in the undergraduate Coastal Engineering program now have new ways to study the power of ocean waves using a state-of-the-art wave flume installed right next to their classrooms,” states the announcement from the university. (WECT) - The University of North Carolina Wilmington released details on Wednesday, May 31, about its new 9,500-gallon wave flume. ![]()
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