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Experimental study of the mutual interactions between waves and tailored turbulence
Benjamin K Smeltzer1,2, Olav Rømcke1, R Jason Hearst1
1Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491, Trondheim, Norway.
Journal of Fluid Mechanics
|July 14, 2023
Summary
Surface waves and turbulence mutually interact. Experiments show turbulence enhances wave vorticity and scatters waves, with scattering intensity depending on turbulence length scales, not just total energy.
Area of Science:
- Fluid dynamics
- Oceanography
- Wave-turbulence interaction
Background:
- Surface waves and turbulence influence each other.
- Turbulence modifies wave properties like directionality.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate mutual interactions between surface waves and ambient turbulence.
- Quantify effects of turbulence on wave propagation and spectral broadening.
Main Methods:
- Experimental study in a water channel laboratory.
- Controlled turbulence generation using an active grid.
- Subsurface flow measurement using stereo particle-image velocimetry.
- Analysis of directional wave spectrum evolution.
Main Results:
- Observed enhancement of streamwise vorticity near the surface due to wave passage.
- Directional scattering of waves increases with propagation distance.
- Scattering rate is highest for turbulence with energy at longest length scales.
- Wave spectrum variance increases linearly with propagation time.
Conclusions:
- Turbulence significantly alters surface wave dynamics.
- The interaction mechanism involves vorticity enhancement and spectral scattering.
- Turbulence length scales are critical in determining wave scattering intensity.
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