Abstract
The interaction of an internal gravity wave with a critical layer and the generation of turbulence are studied by three-dimensional numerical simulations. Based on a successful comparison of a two-dimensional version of the model with experimental observations (Thorpe, 1981), we discuss results obtained with two different models of viscosity. Although the variances of the turbulent quantities are nearly the same, a direct numerical simulation gives a smooth breaking with stable vortices. The motion remains two-dimensional. In a largeeddy simulation, the initial field is randomly disturbed and a turbulent viscosity (function of the local shear and Richardson number) is used. The breakdown of the convectively unstable regions occurs immediately after the appearance of convective instability, and small-scale three-dimensional turbulent motion is generated.
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© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Dörnbrack, A., Schumann, U. (1994). Numerical Simulation of Breaking Gravity Waves below a Critical Level. In: Voke, P.R., Kleiser, L., Chollet, JP. (eds) Direct and Large-Eddy Simulation I. Fluid Mechanics and Its Applications, vol 26. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1000-6_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1000-6_17
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-4434-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-1000-6
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