Our physical modelling facilities extend to approximately 14,400 m² and are housed in three purpose built halls.
State of the art physical modelling facilities
- wave basins - both separate and linked units capable of extension to 2,400 m²
- wave-current or current only basin with uni- or bidirectional current discharges
- wave flumes equipped with wave absorbing paddles to minimise wave reflections within the flumes
- general purpose flow flume with certified volumetric measurement capability
- hydraulic structure and river floodplain modelling area
- specialist facilities for tsunami generation, flood protection product testing, air in pipelines and aircraft ditching studies
Wave basins
HR Wallingford has six wave basins ranging in plan size from 25 x 32 m to 75 x 32 m, and a 55 x 27 m wave-current basin. Our largest wave basin is one of the largest unobstructed hydraulic test tanks in the world. The size of our basins allows large structures to be tested without risk of incurring significant scale effects.
Our basins are equipped with state of the art instrumentation including multi-element random wavemakers with active wave absorption, laser scanners, video capture and infrared tracking systems (for monitoring the movement of moored vessels). Model waves up to 0.25 m can be generated in water depths of up to 0.8m. In addition, our wave-current basin can generate uni-or bidirectional current discharges of up to 1.2 m³/s.
Wave flumes
HR Wallingford has two wave flumes of length 45 m, width 1.2 m and an operating depth of up to 1.5 m. We also havea large flume of length 100 m, width 1.8 m and an operating depth of up to 1.8 m. The flumes are equipped with electric paddles that can produce regular and random waves with heights up to 0.3 m (Hs).
General purpose flume
Our general purpose flow flume (GP flume) is unique in the UK in terms of its size and flow measurement accuracy. It uses the volume-time approach to measure flow rates, generally acknowledged to be the most accurate means available. The flume is calibrated to a volumentric measurement accuracy of ±0.2 per cent.
Modelling hydraulic structures
HR Wallingford has the facilities to undertake free-standing scale model studies. Despite advances in computational fluid dynamics, physical modelling remains the most reliable way of investigating the performance pumping stations and of complex and non-standard structures such as:
- curved or gated weirs
- water and river intakes
- drop structures
- outfalls
- spillways
- bridge piers
