Formation mechanism of corner waves downstream a partially submerged plate

摘要

We have studied the flow downstream the corner of a partially submerged vertical plate using a combination of experimental, numerical and analytical tools. In this flow configuration, a steady wave remains attached to the corner of the plate. Both the amplitude and slope of the wave front increase with the downstream distance until the wave breaks resulting in either a spilling or a plunging breaker. The observed wave pattern resembles the one found at a dry stern in high-speed surface vessels. This similarity allows to draw some conclusions about the dynamics of the rooster tail. In particular, the effect of two parameters is explored, namely a Froude number based on the height of the free surface above the plate corner and the dimensionless curvature of this corner. It will be shown that, properly re-scaling the trajectory of the corner wave front with the above mentioned parameters, it follows a universal curve.