Simple Internal Waves and Bores
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 120, Issue 5
Abstract
A simple surface wave develops, for example, after a dam break in a reservoir, or when water is suddenly withdrawn from one end of a long open channel. The present contribution is on simple internal waves, which can develop at the thermocline of a stratified reservoir when a sudden change of the inflow rate occurs due to man‐made or natural causes. Use is made of the fact that the interface along a simple wave advances with the local long‐wave speed, and of flow continuity. General analytical solutions for the velocity difference between the upper and lower layers along simple waves, and for their shape, are derived for Boussinesq flows. Also, the conditions are outlined under which a simple wave becomes unstable, and an internal bore develops. An example is provided for the shape and extent of a simple wave, which is due to a sudden dense inflow into a stratified reservoir. Such a wave is stable.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 120 • Issue 5 • May 1994
Pages: 638 - 645
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 26, 1993
Published online: May 1, 1994
Published in print: May 1994
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