Experimental Generation of Solitary Waves by a Thin Bump Traveling on Sea Bed

Abstract

Oh, S.-H.; Lee, D.S., and Choi, J.W., 2018. Experimental generation of solitary waves by a thin bump traveling on sea bed. In: Shim, J.-S.; Chun, I., and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 461–465. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.This study experimentally investigated characteristics of solitary waves that were generated by a thin bump horizontally traveling at a constant speed on sea bottom. The upper surface of the bump was convex shape having the maximum amplitude of 0.67 cm at its center. The bump was pulled at a varying speed for 7.5 m from the initial position and then abruptly stopped. The corresponding Froude number (Fr) ranged from 1.04, to 1.36. By analyzing the experimental data, three regimes of solitary wave generation were identified solely depending on the traveling speed of the bump, with a threshold value of Fr = 1.22. These results are in general well matched with previous researches on the generation of solitary waves by a pressure disturbance that moves either on the water surface or inside the water.