The Offshore Technology Research Center, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center is a joint venture between Texas A & M University and the University of Texas, will design, build and install a current generating system in its new multi- directional wave basin. The objective is to provide a more realistic, scaled, approximation of conditions found in the offshore environment. The conclusion of currents in the wave basin will further the study of deep ocean engineering problems by permitting the controlled and reproducible combination of waves and currents in the laboratory. The current generator will expand the OTRC laboratory capabilities to include the physical model study of interactions between waves, currents and offshore structures. Within the context of the OTRC research agenda the most affected thrust areas are in (1) Hydrodynamic Loading and (2) Structural Integrity of Deep Water Systems. The expanded experimental capability to incorporate currents will result in advances in: o the study of the kinematics of long-crested and shorted- crested seas in currents, o the study of hydrodynamic-structural interactions affected by both waves and currents, such as wake formation, shielding, vortex shedding, and structural vibrations, and o the study of the wave and current effects on the drag, added mass and damping coefficients of vessels, offshore structures and rigid and complaint members within structures.
