Guillaume Michel

Observation of resonant interactions among surface gravity waves

We experimentally study resonant interactions of oblique surface gravity waves in a large basin. Our results strongly extend previous experimental results performed mainly for perpendicular or collinear wave trains. We generate two oblique waves crossing at an acute angle, while we control their frequency ratio, steepnesses and directions. These mother waves mutually interact and give birth to a resonant wave whose properties (growth rate, resonant response curve and phase locking) are fully characterized. All our experimental results are found in good quantitative agreement with four-wave interaction theory with no fitting parameter. Off-resonance experiments are also reported and the relevant theoretical analysis is conducted and validated.

Acoustic Measurement of Surface Wave Damping by a Meniscus.

We investigate the reflection of gravity-capillary surface waves by a plane vertical barrier. The size of the meniscus is found to strongly affect reflection: the energy of the reflected wave with a pinned contact line is around twice the one corresponding to a fully developed meniscus. To perform these measurements, a new experimental setup similar to an acousto-optic modulator is developed and offers a simple way to measure the amplitude, frequency and direction of propagation of surface waves.

Observation of Thermal Equilibrium in Capillary Wave Turbulence

We investigate capillary wave turbulence at scales larger than the forcing one. At such scales, our measurements show that the surface waves dynamics is the one of a thermal equilibrium state in which the effective temperature is related to the injected power. We characterize this evolution with a scaling law and report the statistical properties of the large-scale surface elevation depending on this effective temperature.

Bifurcations of a large-scale circulation in a quasi-bidimensional turbulent flow

We report the experimental study of the bifurcations of a large-scale circulation that is formed over a turbulent flow generated by a spatially periodic forcing. After shortly describing how the flow becomes turbulent through a sequence of symmetry-breaking bifurcations, we focus our study on the transitions that occur within the turbulent regime. They are related to changes in the shape of the probability density function (PDF) of the amplitude of the large-scale flow. We discuss the nature of these bifurcations and how to model the shape of the PDF.

Local Fluctuation Theorem for Large Systems

The fluctuation theorem characterizes the distribution of the dissipation in nonequilibrium systems and proves that the average dissipation will be positive. For a large system with no external source of fluctuation, fluctuations in properties will become unobservable and details of the fluctuation theorem are unable to be explored. In this Letter, we consider such a situation and show how a fluctuation theorem can be obtained for a small open subsystem within the large system. We find that a correction term has to be added to the large system fluctuation theorem due to correlation of the subsystem with the surroundings. Its analytic expression can be derived provided some general assumptions are fulfilled, and its relevance is checked using numerical simulations.

The generalized Doppler effect for surface waves

We investigate energy exchanges through scales occurring when a surface wave reflects on a harmonically oscillating wall. We first experimentally evidence the creation of Doppler-shifted waves and measure their height as a function of the oscillation amplitude. Then, we theoretically compute the amplitudes of these new waves in the gravity regime. Both results show that even without bulk non-linearities, oscillating paddles in a fluid container lead to a complex wave energy spectrum competing with the one predicted by wave turbulence. To exemplify this point, we characterize a simple one-dimensional model consisting of a linear wave equation in an oscillating cavity with distinct injection and dissipation mechanisms. It displays features usually associated with non-linearities, as self-similarity in a spectral domain (the so-called inertial range), appearance of energy at larger and/or lower scales than the forcing one and creation of shock waves.