Abstract
When wind speed increases and ultimately exceeds a critical value, whitecaps and subsequently sea droplets appear. This is the source of an important increase in the rate of evaporation. Experiments reported here were performed in a large air‐sea interaction simulating facility which allow us to quantify this increased rate. Various wind (10, 12, and 14 m/s) and wave (wind‐generated and mechanically generated) conditions were studied to check this evolution. Profiles of mean wind velocity and humidity are determined at about 35–50 data points across the boundary layer and as close to the air‐water interface as possible. Using the profile method, momentum and water vapor fluxes were evaluated and represented by their dimensionless expressions as friction coefficients Cf and Sherwood number Sh, respectively. When plotted in the conventional manner, i.e., versus Reynolds number based on fetch and free stream velocity, Sherwood numbers show a clear deviation from available results, indicating a large increase of evaporation with increasing Reynolds number. Results were then plotted as a function of a modified Reynolds number based on friction velocity and significant wave height. From this an empirical correlation is proposed.
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