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On the spectra of high-frequency wind waves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2006

Hsien-Ta Liu  and
Jung-Tai Lin
Hsien-Ta Liu
Affiliation:
Flow Research Company, Kent, Washington 98031
Jung-Tai Lin
Affiliation:
Flow Research Company, Kent, Washington 98031 Present address: United Industries Corporation, 12835 Bellevue/Redmond Road, Bellevue, Washington 98005.
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Abstract

Displacements of wind waves in the laboratory were measured with a laser displacement gauge, a recent,ly developed, optical, non-intrusive sensor, which avoids the meniscus effect's that severely limit the frequency response of conventional thin- wire gauges. The new gauge is a digital device, which has a maximum frequency response of 2.5 kHz. Its spatial resolution, which depends on the field of view, is t,ypically 0.016 cm for a 4 cm field of view. The wind-wave displacements were measured at several fetches for three wind speeds. Wave-variance spectra derived from these measurements indicate the presence of a quasi-equilibrium spectrum in the capillary-wave regime. The quasi-equilibrium spectrum follows an $f^{-\frac{7}{3}}$ power law that has been predicted on dimensional grounds. The spect'ral density increases with increasing wind speed from 4 to 10 m/s but is independent of the fetch from 3 to 5 m. In addition, the capillary-wave spectrum is practically unchanged when a, relatively long but. low-amplitude mechanical wave is superposed onto the wind- generat'cd waves.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 123 , October 1982 , pp. 165 - 185
Copyright
© 1982 Cambridge University Press

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