Coastal & Ocean Basin - COB

The Coastal & Ocean Basin (COB) wave tank facility in Ostend (Belgium) has been designed to study the effect of waves and currents on coastal and offshore engineering scale models, as well as the hydrodynamic behaviour of floating and marine renewable energy devices. With wave tank dimensions of 30 m x 30 m, a variable water depth up to 1.4 m and a central pit with up to 4.5 m water depth, the infrastructure offers excellent test conditions for coastal to near offshore applications.

The state-of-the-art generation and measurement systems boast several unique features, such as the ability to generate waves and current at any relative angle. Extreme directional wave conditions with a wave height up until 0.55 m can be generated, in combination with maximum current velocities of 0.4 m/s. The Qualisys motion capture system, a unique twin system of above and underwater cameras, enables users to accurately capture 6-Degree-of-Freedom motions of floating or semi-submersed objects. The wide range of testing possibilities includes – but is not limited to – coastal defence solutions, renewable energy technologies such as offshore (floating) wind turbines, wave energy converters or floating photovoltaic systems, as well as capturing seagoing ship motions, testing of marine observation equipment or mooring applications.

The Coastal & Ocean Basin is situated within Flanders Maritime Laboratory, which also houses a towing tank for manoeuvres in shallow water. The COB is managed by a consortium composed of Ghent University, KU Leuven and Flanders Hydraulics Research. Fully operational since first half of 2023, the COB welcomes users from academia, industry and governmental institutions.

More information: www.cob.ugent.be