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Experimental investigation of nonlinear internal waves in deep water with miscible fluids

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Abstract

Laboratory experimental results are presented for nonlinear internal solitary waves (ISW) propagation in ‘deep water’ configuration with miscible fluids. The results are validated against direct numerical simulations and traveling wave exact solutions where the effect of the diffused interface is taken into account. The waves are generated by means of a dam break and their evolution is recorded with laser-induced fluorescence and particle image velocimetry. In particular, data collected in a frame moving with the waves are presented here for the first time. Our results are representative of geophysical applications in the deep ocean where weakly nonlinear theories fail to capture the characteristics of large amplitude ISWs from field observations.

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Acknowledgements

RC, RMM, and CT thank David Adalsteinsson for helpful comments on the post-processing of the numerical results using DataTank.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Carolina Center for Interdisciplinary Applied Mathematics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    R. Camassa, M. W. Hurley, R. M. McLaughlin & C. F. C. Thomson

  2. Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    P.-Y. Passaggia

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  1. R. Camassa
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  2. M. W. Hurley
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  3. R. M. McLaughlin
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  4. P.-Y. Passaggia
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  5. C. F. C. Thomson
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Correspondence to P.-Y. Passaggia.

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RC, RMM, and CT acknowledge the support by the National Science Foundation under grants RTG DMS-0943851, CMG ARC-1025523, DMS-1009750, DMS-1517879, and DURIP N00014-12-1-0749. PYP acknowledges the support by the National Science Foundation under grant NSF OCE-1155558 and NSF OCE-1736989.

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Camassa, R., Hurley, M.W., McLaughlin, R.M. et al. Experimental investigation of nonlinear internal waves in deep water with miscible fluids. J. Ocean Eng. Mar. Energy 4, 243–257 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40722-018-0119-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40722-018-0119-9

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