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Viscous effects in some internal waves

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Abstract

Experiments are described in which a horizontal circular cylinder is moved vertically and also horizontally at constant velocity normal to its axis in density stratified brine which has a constant buoyancy frequency, N. A six mirror Mach Zehnder interferometer is used to measure the density distributions within the far field wave systems. The Reynolds numbers based on the cylinder diameter, D, are between 1 and 10 and the frequency parameter, DN/U, where U is the body velocity, is of order one.

Non-linear effects are confined to a region close to the cylinder. In the far field, at distances greater than five body diameters from the path of the body, the ratio of the amplitude to the wavelength of the waves is less than 0.05. In this region a linear viscous theory predicts the wave attenuation.

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Stevenson, T.N., Woodhead, T.J. & Kanellopulos, D. Viscous effects in some internal waves. Appl. Sci. Res. 40, 185–197 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00386219

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