Experimental investigation of internal tide generation by two-dimensional topography using synthetic Schlieren

An experimental investigation of internal tide generation at two-dimensional topography was carried out using the synthetic Schlieren experimental technique. Two linear models were tested: Balmforth, Ierley and Young's [1] subcritical solution for a Gaussian ridge and Hurley and Keady's [15] super-critical solution for a knife-edge. The former was modified to account for the effects of viscosity in the propagating wave beams. The experiment set up comprised a wave-tank with a linear salt-water stratification and a sliding stage on which the topography oscillated horizontally to simulate tidal flow. The wave field was measured by capturing the distortion of a pattern of random dots placed on a light sheet behind the tank using a CCD camera, and using the synthetic Schlieren processing of the movies obtained. Four experiments were performed, for wave beams propagating close to 25 ° and 56 from the horizontal for each topographic feature. The subcritical theory over-predicted the peak disturbance over the Gaussian ridge by a maximum of 50%, and it correctly predicted the profile shape and evolution along the wave beam and throughout one period of the oscillation.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Echeverri Mondragón, Paula

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Thomas Peacock.

• Mechanical 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/1721.1/36242

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/36242