TWO-DIMENSIONAL PERIODIC WAVES IN SHALLOW WATER

Experimental data are presented that demonstrate the existence of a family of gravitational water waves that propagate practically without change of form on the surface of shallow water of uniform depth. The surface patterns of these waves are genuinely two-dimensional and fully periodic, i.e. they are periodic in two spatial directions and in time. The amplitudes of these waves need not be small; their form persists even up to breaking. The waves are easy to generate experimentally, and they are observed to propagate in a stable manner, even when perturbed significantly. The measured waves are described with reasonable accuracy by a family of exact solutions of the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation over the entire range of the experiments, including waves well outside the putative range of validity of the KP equation.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • J. Fluid Mechanics, 209 (1989) p.567 (Dec.) [23 pp., 39 Ref., 2 Tab., 10 Fig.]
• Authors:
  • Hammack, J
  • Scheffner, N
  • Segur, H
• Publication Date: 1989

Language

• English

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Gravity waves
• Uncontrolled Terms: Shallow water; Two dimensional
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00696763
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: British Maritime Technology
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 14 1995 12:00AM