c. The BEB's 635-Foot-Long Wave Tank. Tlie 635-foot-long wave tank of the BEB 

 proved to be a valuable tool for assessing scale effects and for determining solutions to shore 

 protection problems. Because of its unique qualities, it is fitting that, within a discussion of 

 the history of the BEB, there should be some elaboration regarding the application of this 

 research facility. 



Dedicated at ceremonies held 18 October 1955, tlie 635-foot-long tank brought a 

 considerable amount of attention to tlie BEB. A number of newspapers and magazines 

 carried articles describing this large wave tank which, when filled to test level held 

 approximately 1 million gallons of water.^ Photos of manmade 6-foot breakers (Fig. 36) 

 were usually included in the news items. This notoriety extended well beyond the borders 

 of the United States, and attracted visitors from abroad.* 



From an actual research point of view, the facilit)' became the center of constant activity 

 as soon as it was fully completed. The first test run in the large wave tank was on beach 

 equilibrium profiles. This was a research topic that had been studied at the BEB for a 

 number of years, and these tests added unique data at prototype scale. While this 

 experiment was underway, additional information was also obtained concerning sand 

 suspension in breaking waves for comparison with field data from Mission Bay, California, 

 and small-scale laboratory data. If secondary experiments could be carried out in this 

 way in conjunction with a primary experiment but in no way interfering with the primary 

 test, this practice was done to assure optimum use of the facility. 



A second experiment run in the 635-foot tank was concerned with wave runup and 

 overtopping. These tests were begun in connection with a study for the Corps of Engineers' 

 Jacksonville District, and involved proposed levee construction at Lake Okeechobee in 

 Florida. The Lake Okeechobee study was an example of particular answers being provided 

 for a particular problem through research, but which information could then also be 

 interpreted and used in broader terms for a wide range of problems. The end product was 

 the determination of a lower levee height than had been considered, "at a saving of about 

 four million dollars per foot of levee elevation."^ ^^ The tests also provided data used, 

 together with small-scale laboratory data, to develop the generalized curves for wave runup 

 and overtopping wliicli appeared in the 1957 revision of TR-4. 



Additional work done in the BEB 635-foot-long wave tank included rubble-mound 

 stability tests; an investigation related to the proposed construction of a perched beach in 

 conjunction with an offshore causeway at Santa Monica, California; wave forces on pilings; 

 and development and testing of various types of field instruments. Leo C. Williams, for 

 many years chief of the BEB's Instrumentation Branch, was closely involved in this latter 

 activity. Through his efforts, such equipment as the step-resistance wave gage and the analog 

 wave spectrum analyzer were perfected at the BEB.^^^ 



On several occasions, tests were run in the large tank for other government agencies as 

 well as for private companies. (Testing for private firms was very limited, being conducted in 



77 



