Navier-Stokes simulations of steep breaking water waves with a coupled air-water interface

Wave breaking on the ocean surface significantly facilitates the transfer of mass, momentum, heat and energy across the air-sea interface. In the context of the near field flow about a surface ship, the breaking bow wave is a key element to the bubbly signature and an appreciable portion of the wave drag of the ship. Yet, despite its direct effect on many aspects of ocean engineering, this phenomenon is not well understood even at a basic level. Most of the knowledge has been contributed by experiments in the laboratory and the field although results are often limited due to the difficulty in taking measurements of local quantities during the breaking event. Numerical solution of the breaking wave problem has generally been limited to the pre-breaking phase as it avoids complex mechanisms such as surface re-entry, spray formation, air entrainment and strong turbulence. Additionally, relatively few experimental or numerical studies exist which dynamically couple the air-water interface. The objective of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge of steep breaking waves in the context of the coupled air-water interface. Of central importance are basic kinematics and dynamics, the rate of energy dissipation and energy flux at the interface during the breaking event.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Ocean Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Hendrickson, Kelli L

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dick K.P. Yue.

• Ocean Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/33559

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/33559