Xavier Barthelemy

Linking reduced breaking crest speeds to unsteady nonlinear water wave group behavior

Observed crest speeds of maximally steep, breaking water waves are much slower than expected. Our fully nonlinear computations of unsteadily propagating deep water wave groups show that each wave crest approaching its maximum height slows down significantly and either breaks at this reduced speed, or accelerates forward unbroken. This previously noted crest slowdown behavior was validated as generic in our extensive laboratory and field observations. It is likely to occur in unsteady dispersive nonlinear wave groups in other natural systems.

Development of thermal image velocimetry techniques to measure the water surface velocity

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is a state-of-the-art non-intrusive technique for velocity and fluid flow measurements. Due to ongoing improvements in image hardware and processing techniques, the diversity of applications of the PIV method continues to increase. This study presents an accurate thermal image velocimetry (TIV) technique using a CO2 laser source to measure the surface wave particle velocity using infrared imagery. Experiments were carried out in a 2-D wind wave flume with glass side walls for deep-water monochromatic and group waves. It was shown that the TIV technique is robust for both unforced and wind-forced group wave studies. Surface wave particles attain their highest velocity at the group crest maximum and slow down thereafter. As previously observed, each wave crest slows down as it approaches its crest maximum but this study demonstrates that the minimum crest speed coincides with maximum water velocity at the wave crest. Present results indicate that breaking is initiated once the water surface particle velocity at the wave crest exceeds a set proportion of the velocity of the slowing crest as it passes through the maximum of a wave group.