AN INTRODUCTION

WAVE MECHANICS
 Reference
• Pse read the vey good Layman Introduction
to Ocean Waves
– “Ocean Waves” 1959, Scientific American

• The paper has been uploaded to Course

Website under Reading Material
How are Waves Generated

Wind /Seismic/Tidal Waves

 Wave generation
• Waves generated by a ship or any other floating structure which is
moving, either at a constant forward speed or by carrying out an
oscillatory motion.
• Waves generated by the interaction between wind and the sea
surface.
• Waves generated by astronomical forces: Tides.
• Waves generated by earthquakes or submarine landslides:
Tsunamis.

• No single mathematical solution

• Approximations required: be aware of simplifications
Wind Generated Waves
 Wind generated wave systems
• The size of the wave system is dependent on the following
factors
• Wind Strength (Wind Speed) :
– The faster the wind speed, the larger the energy transfer to the sea.
– Larger waves are generated by strong winds.
• Wind Duration :
– The longer wind blows, the greater the time the sea has to become
fully developed at that wind speed.
• Water Depth :
– Wave heights are affected by water depth.
– Waves traveling to beach will turn into breaking wave by a depth
effect.
• Fetch
– Fetch is the area of water that is being influenced by the wind.
– The larger the fetch, the more efficient the energy transfer between
wind and sea.
 Wave creation sequence

W Small Wave or dying out

ind
En (Wind energy <Dissipation Energy)
er g Ripple
y
(high freq.)
Fully Developed Wave
(Wind energy =Dissipation Energy)
Energy Dissipation
due to viscous friction
Wind energy >Dissipation Energy

Swell (low frequency long wave)

 Wind-generated waves
• Sea
– Train of waves driven by the prevailing local
wind field
– Short-crested with the lengths of the crests only
a few (2-3) times the apparent wavelength
– Very irregular
– Multi-directional
– Crests are fairly sharp
– Apparent wave period & apparent wave length
vary continuously
 Wind-generated waves
• Swell
– Waves which have propagated out of the area
and local wind in which they were generated
– No longer dependent upon the wind
– Individual waves are more regular and the
crests are more rounded
– Lengths of the crests are longer: several (6-7)
times the virtual wave length
– Wave height is more predictable
Wind Classification and Sea State
Fully Developed Seas at Given Wind
Speeds
Conditions Necessary for a Fully Developed Sea at Given Wind Speeds, and the
Parameters of the Resulting Waves
Wind Conditions Wave Size
Wind
Average
Speed in Wind Average Average
Fetch Period and
One Duration Height Wavelength
Speed
Direction
3.0 sec
19 km/h 19 km 2 hr 0.27 m 8.5 m
9.3 ft/sec
5.7 sec
37 km/h 139 km ( 10 hr 1.5 m 33.8 m
19.5 ft/sec
8.6 sec
56 km/h 518 km 23 hr 4.1 m 76.5 m
29.2 ft/sec
11.4 sec
74 km/h 1,313 km 42 hr 8.5  136 m
39.1 ft/sec
14.3 sec
92 km/h 2,627 km 69 hr 14.8 m 212.2 m
48.7 ft/sec
Wind Wave Generation
Because the air velocity is
relatively small, the air flow
is laminar. This laminar air
flow simply drags the water
particles on the free surface in
the direction of the flow due
to the viscosities of both the
air and water. This air flow
produces no wave
When the speed of the air increases
such that the flow in the boundary
layer adjacent to the free surface is
turbulent, then the pressure
fluctuations on the free
surface beneath the turbulent air flow
deform the free surface, and small
waves are created. These waves are
called capillary waves, and have a
profile similar to that shown.

We see that the crest of the wave is

broad, while the trough of the wave is
narrow. The cause of this rather odd wave
profile is the surface tension, which is the
dominant force.
Capillary waves travel in the direction of
the air flow because of the shear stress on
the free surface. For most
engineering problems involving water
waves, capillary waves are of little
significance because of their low energy
content.
As the air speed increases, the energy in the
air turbulence increases as does that
of the surface shear stress. The air flow can
now be referred to as a wind rather than a
breeze. The water converts the energies
transferred to it by wind turbulence and
shear stress into longer waves having
sinusoidal profiles, as sketched in Figure .
These sinusoidal waves are called linear
waves because they can be analyzed using
linearized equations, as discussed in the next
section. One of the linear properties of the
waves is that of superposition, that is, linear
waves of different heights (H) and lengths
(λ) can be combined to form other wave
profiles
 When the wind speed increases further,
both the height of the wave and the
wavelength increase due to the
horizontal pressure gradient resulting
from the separation of the air flow on
the leeward side of the wave. The
altered profile has a narrow crest and a
broad trough, as sketched in Figure.
We note that the mean-water level
(MWL) – the mean way between the
crest and trough – is above the still-
water level (SWL). The reason for this
is that volumes of water above and
below the SWL must be equal.

Waves having a profile similar to that in Figure are

called nonlinear waves because their properties can
no longer be well predicted
using linearized equations.
A further increase in the wind speed
can produce breaking waves, as
sketched in Figure. A break is
defined as the condition where the
horizontal water-particle velocity at
the crest equals the wave velocity
(c).
The profile of a breaking wave
has a pointed crest and a broad
trough. After the wave breaks, the
wind can shear off the crest,
producing foamy white water that
spills down the leeward side of the
wave. This white-water spill is
called a white cap.
 Classification Of Waves
• Deep Water Waves

• Shallow Water Waves

 Basic Categories
• Deep water waves (short waves)
– The water is considered to be deep if the water depth, h,
is more than half the wavelength, 
– Thus, h/  > 1/2 or  /h < 2
– These (relatively) short waves do not ’feel’ the sea
floor.
• Shallow water waves (long waves)
– The water is considered to be shallow if the water
depth, h, is less than 1/20 of the wave length, 
– Thus, h/  < 1/20 or  /h > 20.
– The sea floor has a very large influence on the
characteristics of these (relatively) long waves.
SEISMIC WAVES
&
TIDAL WAVES
Tsunami
 Tsunami
• Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions
• Long High Energy Wave
– Lw ~ 200 Kms
– V ~ 800 Kmh
 Tidal Waves
• Gravity and centrifugal force act to produce two
bulges on opposite sides of the Earth.
• Gravity pulls water toward Moon
• Reduced gravitational force on side opposite the
moon allows centrifugal forces to pull water
outward.
• Earth’s rotation under the tidal bulge produces the
rise and fall of tides over approximately 1 day
• Tidal Day = 24h + 50min; additional 50 minutes
to due motion of the moon
• The tidal wave has wavelength (L) on the order of 1/2 the
circumference of the earth or about 20,000 km
• A wave will behave as a shallow water wave when depth <
L/20 —in this case, for depth < 1000 km.
• Since ocean bottom depths are typically only about 4 km,
it is safe to assume that a tide wave is a shallow-water
wave everywhere
Wave Terminology
 Regular Waves: Definitions

• Origin & conventions

• Crest, Trough, Amplitude (a ), Height (H= 2 a )
• Wave length (), Wave Period (T)
• Wave steepness = H/ 
• Zero crossings
• Wave number (k=2/ ); Circular frequency (= 2/ T)
• Phase velocity (c = /T = /k)