Determining the onset and strength of unforced wave breaking in a numerical wave tank

A numerical wave tank is used to investigate the onset and strength of unforced wave breaking, and the waves have three types of initial spectra： constant amplitude spectrum, constant steepness spectrum and Pierson-Moscowitz spectrum. Numerical tests are performed to validate the model results. Then, the onset of wave breaking is discussed with geometric, kinematic, and dynamic breaking criteria. The strength of wave breaking, which is always characterized by the fractional energy loss and breaking strength coefficient, is studied for different spectra. The results show how the energy growth rate is better than the initial wave steepness on estimating the fractional energy losses as well as breaking strength coefficient.     

破碎波群的显著特征指标

群发性是风浪破碎的显著特征,最近的研究表明风浪破碎研究应该基于波群而不是单个波。本文探讨破碎波群区别于非破碎波群的显著特征指标。依据一系列风浪破碎实验数据,采用多种判据与实验现场目测的破碎标记信号相结合的原则划分破碎波群与非破碎波群,考查波群特征量、单个波几何特征量、局地破碎判据指标、波包络几何特征量以及波群能量结构特征量等5大类28个指标在破碎波群与非破碎波群上的分布差异。结果表明:波陡、峰前波陡、瞬时波面斜率、运动学判据指标和动力学判据指标等在破碎非破碎波群上的分布几乎没有交叠;后两者尤为理想,分布明显分离,是破碎波群区别于非破碎波群的显著指标;而其它各指标在破碎波群非破碎波群上的分布都有不同程度的交叠,不能单独依据它们区分破碎波群与非破碎波群。     

有限水深下独立波群的能量变化试验研究

为了研究独立高斯型波群在中等水深条件下的非线性演化情况,进行了多种波况的物理试验,重点分析了波浪各要素对波群非线性演化的影响。试验结果表明,波陡在波群演化中占主导作用,其次是波群的谱宽,前者引起的非线性主要体现在高阶谐波的能量变化而后者引起的非线性主要体现在自由波能量的变化。频带下移现象只在大波陡情况下才会发生,随着波陡的增加,频带下移发生的相对更早,随着波群的谱变窄,频带下移相对越明显。波陡的增加会使得波群更早的开始分裂。大波陡的波群在演化中会发生破碎,破碎的类型以崩破为主,并且崩破是间歇发生的,连续崩破发生的距离约为1.0～1.5倍波长。此外,破碎引起的能量损耗主要来源于主频和高频成分波,耗散率约10%～18%,平均每个崩破能耗约为初始能量的2%。     

波群内单个波的波陡分布与波破碎

对波群内单个波的波陡分布和波破碎进行了实验研究。研究结果是,波群中波动的最大振幅出现在波群前部而不是出现在波群中央,这种不对称性导致波群前部单个波出现大波陡的概率大于后部单个波出现大波陡的概率;进一步的波破碎统计发现波群前部单个波破碎的频率是后部单个波破碎频率的4倍。因此认为,波群结构的不对称性能够导致单个波发生破碎的...     

Effects of Wave Breaking on Freak Wave Generation in Random Wave Train

The experimental studies of the wave breaking effects on freak wave generation are presented within a finite-depth random wave train in a laboratory wave tank. The main attention is paid to the abnormal index,AI=Hmax/Hs,being used to characterize the freak waves,and the changes of the coefficient due to wave breaking. The results show that the occurrence probability of freak wave events in non-breaking waves is much larger than that in breaking waves and such occurrence in deep water is larger than that in ...     

Effects of Wave Breaking on Freak Wave Generation in Ramdom Wave Train

The experimental studies of the wave breaking effects on freak wave generation are presented within a finite-depth random wave train in a laboratory wave tank. The main attention is paid to the abnormal index, AI=Hmax/Hs, being used to characterize the freak waves, and the changes of the coefficient due to wave breaking. The results show that the occurence in deep water is larger than that in shallow water.     

Characteristics of breaking irregular wave forces on a monopile

The substructures of offshore wind turbines are subjected to extreme breaking irregular wave forces. The present study is focused on investigating breaking irregular wave forces on a monopile using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based numerical model. The breaking irregular wave forces on a monopile mounted on a slope are investigated with a numerical wave tank. The experimental and numerical irregular free surface elevations are compared in the frequency-domain for the different locations in the vicinity of the cylinder. A numerical analysis is performed for different wave steepness cases to understand the influence of wave steepness on the breaking irregular wave loads. The wave height transformation and energy level evolution during the wave shoaling and wave breaking processes is investigated. The higher-frequency components generated during the wave breaking process are observed to play a significant role in initiating the secondary force peaks. The free surface elevation skewness and spectral bandwidth during the wave transformation process are analysed and an investigation is performed to establish a correlation of these parameters with the breaking irregular wave forces. The role of the horizontal wave-induced water particle velocity at the free surface and free surface pressure in determining the breaking wave loads is highlighted. The higher-frequency components in the velocity and pressure spectrum are observed to be significant in influencing the secondary peaks in the breaking wave force spectrum.     

深水极端波浪非线性几何特征试验分析

为了解极端波浪非线性特征,明确波群在演化过程中的水动力学特性,针对一系列高斯波群进行了深水物理试验分析。试验结果显示,增加波陡或波群宽度,均可使波面偏度Sk发生明显变化,尤其当波浪发生破碎后,在破碎区域内,波面偏度变化范围剧烈增大,说明该偏度极大值可能作为判断破碎的一个指标。波陡和波群宽度对波面不对称度影响程度不同:当波陡或波群宽度增加后,波峰不对称度所受影响最大,波峰前端波谷不对称度次之,波峰后端波谷不对称度所受影响最小,但仍不可忽略。在波浪演化过程中,幅值谱出现不同程度频带下移,波浪破碎后,会出现永久频带下移;当调制不稳定发生时,随着调制不稳定指数增加,频带下移量呈现快速增长趋势。     

Application of VOF in Calculating Wave Energy Loss due to Spilling Breaker

- A large amount of experimental analysis and systematical theoretical calculation has been done by the authors to solve the problem of wave transformation and breaking, considering the effect of both current and topography, but only the wave energy loss due to spilling breaker in the surf zone has been discussed in this paper. Based on test result analysis and calculation with the Stream Function Wave Theory, the wave velocity field at breaking points has been obtained, and it is used to calculate the wave heights after breaking by the VOF (Volume of Fluid) method, in which the governing equations are continuity equation and Navier-Stokes Equation for imcompressible fluids. In the present paper, the improved VOF technique is used to calculate the wave heights of stable regular waves after breaking. Results fit the test data well, which shows that the VOF method is suitable to numerical simulation of regular waves after breaking. Besides, the breaker coefficient B of regular waves in the bore model is a     

Approach to Calculating Methods of Wave Breaking Depth and Height

- Engineers in coastal engineering have been paying much attention to the research subject on wave breaking. In this paper, previous research results on the calculating methods of wave breaking depth and height are enumerated, the laws of wave transformation before and after wave breaking are investigated, an adequate supposition is made, and the effect of beach slope, bed friction and breaking turbulence on wave breaking is considered. By applying the theory of wave energy dissipation rate and combining with proper formulas of solitary waves, a new calculating formula of wave breaking depth and height on the movable bed is derived and examined with the data from experimental pools of different sizes, and it is proved to be of practicability.     

Numerical Simulation of Wave Height and Wave Set-Up in Nearshore Regions

Based on the time dependent mild slope equation including the effect of wave energy dissipation, an expression for the energy dissipation factor is derived in conjunction with the wave energy balance equation, and then a practical method for the simulation of wave height and wave set-up in nearshore regions is presented. The variation of the complex wave amplitude is numerically simulated by use of the parabolic mild slope equation including the effect of wave energy dissipation due to wave breaking. The components of wave radiation stress are calculated subsequently by new expressions for them according to the obtained complex wave amplitude, and then the depth-averaged equation is applied to the calculation of wave set-up due to wave breaking. Numerical results are in good agreement with experimental data, showing that the expression for the energy dissipation factor is reasonable and that the new method is effective for the simulation of wave set-up due to wave breaking in nearshore regions.     

Large Eddy Simulation for Wave Breaking in the Surf Zone

In this paper, (he large eddy simulation method is used combined with the marker and cell method to study the wave propagation or shoaling and breaking process. As wave propagates into shallow water, the shoaling leads lo the increase of wave height, and then at a certain position, the wave will be breaking. The breaking wave is a powerful agent for generating turbulence, which plays an important role in most of the fluid dynamic processes throughout the surf zone, such as transformation of wave energy, generation of near-shore current and diffusion of materials. So a proper numerical model for describing the turbulence effect is needed. In this paper, a revised Smagorinsky subgrid-scale mode! is used to describe the turbulence effect. The present study reveals that the coefficient of the Smagorinsky model for wave propagation or breaking simulation may be taken as a varying function of the water depth and distance away from the wave breaking point. The large eddy simulation model presented in this pape     

Numerical Simulation of Spatial Lag Between Wave Breaking Point and Location of Maximum Wave-Induced Current

A quasi three-dimensional numerical model of wave-driven coastal currents with the effects of surface rollers is developed for the study of the spatial lag between the location of the maximum wave-induced current and the wave breaking point.The governing equations are derived from Navier-Stokes equations and solved by the hybrid method combining the fractional step finite different method in the horizontal plane with a Galerkin finite element method in the vertical direction.The surface rollers effects are considered through incorporating the creation and evolution of the roller area into the free surface shear stress.An energy equation facilitates the computation process which transfers the wave breaking energy dissipation to the surface roller energy.The wave driver model is a phase-averaged wave model based on the wave action balance equation.Two sets of laboratory experiments producing breaking waves that generated longshore currents on a planar beach are used to evaluate the model's performance.The present wave-driven coastal current model with the roller effect in the surface shear stress term can produce satisfactory results by increasing the wave-induced nearshore current velocity inside the surf zone and shifting the location of the maximum longshore current velocity landward.     

Effects of wave breaking on wave statistics for deep-water random wave train

The experimental studies of the breaking effects on wave statistics for deep-water random waves are presented. It is especially focused on the behavior of kurtosis of surface elevations due to wave breaking. Wave breaking suppresses the maximum limit of kurtosis of the surface elevation, although skewness depends on characteristic wave steepness. The mean instantaneous wave steepness of breaking waves defined using the zero-down-crossing method was much lower than expected from the Stokes waves.     

Wave Breaking Phenomena of Irregular Waves Combined with Opposing Current

- Experimental study and theoretical analysis show that the critical value of relative wave height (H/ d)b given by Goda and the critical wave steepness (H/ L)b given by Michell and Miche can be adopted as the spilling breaking indices of regular waves. According to the same principle, a systematic theoretical analysis and experiment of irregular waves have been done by the authors in order to solve the breaking problem of irregular waves. It is indicated that the authors' method for determining wave breaking of regular waves can also be used for irregular waves.     

基于波形不对称性的波浪破碎指标

为了探寻波浪破碎与波形不对称性的关系,通过对1/200缓坡上波浪破碎实验研究结果的进一步分析,运用最小二乘法,拟合了波形不对称性参数与相对水深的关系,以及用波形不对称性参数表示的波浪破碎指标表达式。所得规则波的结果与Kjeldsen的深水波结果相同,而不规则波的结果比规则波的小。研究还表明,这一破碎指标与相对水深有关系,随着水深变浅,指标值增大。     

波浪破碎下湍流混合的实验研究

波浪破碎过程产生的湍流动量和能量垂向输运对于加快海洋上混合层中垂向混合具有显著效果.采用二维实验室水槽中对波浪破碎过程进行模拟.对采集的波浪振幅时间序列采用希尔伯特变换定位破碎波位置,波浪的破碎率随有效波高的增加而增大,波浪谱分析得到的波浪基本周期与有效周期结果相似.实验中采用粒子图像测速技术(particle ima...     

Intermittency of wind wave group breaking

Knowledge on intermittency of wave breaking is so far limited to a few summary statistics, while the probability distribution of time interval between breaking events can provide a full view of intermittency. Based on a series of experiments on wind wave breaking, such probability distributions are investigated. Breaking waves within a wave group were taken as a single breaking event according to recent studies. Interval between successive wave groups with breaker is the focus of this paper. For intervals in our experiments with different fetch and wind conditions, their distributions are all skewed and weighted on small intervals. Results of Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests on time series of these intervals indicate that they all follow gamma distribution, and some are even exponential type. Average breaking-group-interval decreases with friction velocity and significant steepness until the wind is strong enough;most of them are more than 10 times the dominant wave period. Group breaking probability proposed by Babanin recently and the average number of breaking waves in wave groups are also discussed, and they are seemingly more reasonable and sensitive than traditional breaking probability defined in terms of single wave.     

Physical Investigation of Directional Wave Focusing and Breaking Waves in Wave Basin

An experimental scheme for the generation of directional focusing waves in a wave basin is established in this paper. The effects of the directional range, frequency width and center frequency on the wave focusing are studied. The distrihution of maximum amplitude and the evolution of time series and spectra during wave packet propagation and the variation of water surface parameters are extensively investigated. The results reveal that the characteristics of focusing waves are significantly influenced hy wave directionality and that that breaking criteria for directional waves are distinctly different from those for unidirectional waves.     

Improvements on Mean Free Wave Surface Modeling

Some new results of the modeling of mean free surface of waves or wave set-up are presented. The stream funetion wave theory is applied to incident short waves. The limiting wave steepness is adopted as the wave breaker indcx in the calculation of wave breaking dissipation. The model is based on Roelvink (1993), but the numerical techniques used in the solution are based on the Weighted-Average Flux (WAF) method (Watson et al. , 1992), with Time-Operator-Split-ting (TOS) used for the treatment of the source terms. This method allows a small number of eomputational points to be used, and is particularly efficient in modeling wave set-up. The short wave (or incident primary wave) energy equation is solved by use of a traditional Lax-Wendroff technique. The present model is found to be satisfactory compared with the measurements conducted by Stive (1983).