Wave cycles are pairs of a maximum value and a corresponding minimum value. There are many different methods to select the pairs, and here are a few of them, which can be analysed in the WAT toolbox:
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A trough2crest wave cycle is the pair of the minimum value in the interval between a downcrossing and the following upcrossing of a reference level, and the maximum value in the following interval between the downcrossing and the next upcrossing. The crest front wavelength and crest front amplitude are the horizontal and vertical distance between the minimum (trough) and the maximum (crest). |
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A min2Max cycle is a pair of a local minimum and the following local maximum. The min2Max wavelength and amplitude are the horizontal and vertical distance between the minimum and the following maximum. |
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A rainflow cycle is a max/min-pair of a maximum and a certain minimum. For any local maximum at a level u (in the figure marked with a cross, called the RFC-max) ) the corresponding RFC-minimum is selected as the minimum which is reached when one wants to return above u (in the forward or backward direction) with an as small downward excursion as possible. Min/max rainflow pairs are defined analogoulsy |