A series of experiments are carried out in a laboratory flume for combined wave-current flows, to investigate the characteristics of vertical structure of current profile in a wave-current co-existing water areas. Changes induced in the mean velocity profiles are considered for a range of wave heights, wave periods, water depths and flow velocities which are based on those typical data in the Yangtze River Estuary, China. Preliminary tests are conducted on the unidirectional current and on the wave alone. These show that the current mean velocity profiles agree well with the logarithmic law, and that the waves are approximated closely by the Stokes' second-order theory. For the combined wave and current tests, the mean velocity profiles generally differ from those suggested by a linear superposition of wave and current velocities. In the case of waves following a current, the velocity distributions exhibit a relatively greater velocity near the bed and a smaller velocity above a certain depth relative to the logarithmic law, and the maximum velocity is observed at a lower location. In the case of wave opposing a current, the velocity distributions depart from the logarithmic law with a relatively smaller velocity near the bed and a greater velocity above a certain depth. Experimental data can be used to validate the theoretical or mathematical models associated with the combined wave-current motions.
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