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A preliminary investigation of the interaction of internal gravity waves with a steady shearing motion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2006

C. Gary Koop
C. Gary Koop
Affiliation:
Fluid Mechanics Department, TRW Defense and Space Systems Group, Redondo Beach, California 90278
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Abstract

Preliminary experimental results are presented which describe the interaction of an internal-wave field with a steady shearing motion. The results are primarily qualitative and presented in the form of photographs of shadowgraph images. Several internal-wave sources are used, and both critical- and non-critical-layer flows are examined. The results of these observations are interpreted in terms of several existing theories. For critical-layer flows the primary result is that virtually none of the internal-wave momentum flux penetrates the critical-level region, and under certain conditions a critical-layer instability develops resulting in the generation of turbulence. Such wave-induced turbulence is also observed for certain non-critical-layer flows and is believed to be the result of a convective instability.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 113 , December 1981 , pp. 347 - 386
Copyright
© 1981 Cambridge University Press

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