Author(s): Giulio Dolcetti; Héctor García Nava

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Air–water interface interactions; gravity waves; hydrodynamic waves; laboratory studies; velocity measurements

Abstract: This work demonstrates the applicability of the wavelet directional method as a means of characterizing the free surface dynamics in shallow turbulent flows using a small number of sensors. The measurements are obtained with three conductance wave probes in a laboratory flume, in a range of subcritical flow conditions where the Froude number was smaller than one, and the bed was homogeneously rough. The characteristic spatial scale of the surface elevation is found to correspond to the wavelength of stationary waves oriented against the flow. The spectrum of the dominant distribution of waves is characterized in terms of an angular spreading function. A new procedure to estimate the mean surface velocity based on measurements of the surface elevation at only two locations is proposed. The results can inform the development of more accurate models of the surface behaviour, with applications for the remote sensing of rivers and open channel flows.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2018.1478896

Year: 2019