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Surface manifestations of turbulent flow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2006

Michael S. Longuet-Higgins
Affiliation:
Institute for Nonlinear Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0402, USA

Abstract

The surface of a turbulent, open-channel flow is often characterized by smooth areas of upwelling, each surrounded by a zone of downwelling marked by short steep waves. The dynamics of short waves on such a downwelling region are investigated and some laboratory experiments are proposed. Assuming that the horizontal strain rate Ω is locally constant, a simple expression is derived for the amplitude a of the short capillary–gravity waves, and hence also for the spectrum of the surface slopes.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1996 Cambridge University Press

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