Average velocity field of the air flow over the water surface in a laboratory modeling of storm and hurricane conditions in the ocean

Laboratory experiments on studying the structure of the turbulent air boundary layer over waves were carried out at the Wind-Wave Channel of the Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP RAS), in conditions modeling the near-water boundary layer of the atmosphere under strong and hurricane winds and the equivalent wind velocities from 10 to 48 m/s at the standard height of 10 m. A modified technique of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used to obtain turbulent pulsation averaged velocity fields of the air flow over the water surface curved by a wave and average profiles of the wind velocity. The measurements showed that the logarithmic part of the velocity profile of the air flow in the channel was observed in the immediate vicinity from the water surface (at a distance of 30 mm) and could be detected only using remote methods (PIV). According to the measured velocity profiles, dependences of aerodynamic drag factors of the water surface on the wind velocity at a height of 10 m were retrieved; they were compared with results of contact measurements carried out earlier on the same setup. It is shown that they agree with an accuracy of up to 20%; at moderate and strong wind velocities the coincidence falls within the experimental accuracy.