Measurement of Regular Wave Reflection

Abstract

The present paper describes the measurement of regular wave reflection. Three methods involving the use of two and three fixed probes are described and developed so as to provide explicit solutions for the incident wave height, reflection coefficient, and the phase of the reflected wave train. Extensions of the methods to the case of oblique wave reflection are described. A comparison is made of the range of application and accuracy of the methods. A method involving a least‐squares fit to measurements from three fixed probes is found to be the most accurate, whereas a method involving three height measurements is found to be generally unsuitable except under certain conditions. For methods involving the use of three probes, recommendations are made for the relative probe spacing so as to avoid conditions at which the methods fail or become inaccurate.