Plane impulse waves in reservoirs

The characteristics of impulse waves generated in reservoirs by the impact of variable density mass flows were assessed using two-dimensional model experimentation. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was applied within the wave generation area at the slide impact location and the water wave profiles were measured by seven successive capacitance wave gages. The maximum relative wave amplitude and the normalized wave amplitude of the propagating wave train were correlated with the dimensionless slide quantities and the relative propagation distance, respectively. The impact Fronde number was identified as the dominant parameter for slow impacting slides, whereas the water depth and the slide thickness governed the maximum possible wave amplitude for large impact Froude numbers. Four wave types were distinguished due to three different levels of wave nonlinearity associated with variable impact Froude numbers, relative slide densities, and characteristic slide geometries: nonlinear transient bore, transition wave, oscillatory wave, and nonbreaking solitary wave. Moreover, the density effect on the wave generation process was investigated with small impact Fronde numbers using sequential PIV velocity vector fields.