Optimal experimental design for identification of hydrodynamic loading models

Abstract Hydrodynamic model-scale experiments are an intrinsic part of the design of marine structures, as they enable validating and calibrating the involved hydrodynamic numerical models. Such seakeeping experiments are generally conducted using a simple spring-based mooring system, with fixed properties throughout the tests. In the context of cyber-physical testing, the marine structure is kept in position in the laboratory by a virtual mooring system, the properties of which can be adjusted on the fly. This paper provides an algorithmic approach for maximizing the information gain from the test by optimizing the mooring stifness and damping parameters that define the experiment. The method is verified with synthetic data generated for the INO Windmoor 12MW floater, and is shown to be robust to noise and unmodeled effects.