New Methodology for Laboratory Generation of Solitary Waves

Abstract

Traditionally, solitary waves are generated in the laboratory setups using the Goring’s methodology that considers a wave of permanent form during the generation process. In this study, we propose a new methodology for solitary wave generation using piston-type wavemakers by considering the evolving nature of the wave during the generation process. This proposed methodology is tested by conducting a series of experiments in a wave tank. In the experiments, generation of solitary wave profiles predicted by Boussinesq’s and Rayleigh’s theoretical solutions are accomplished using both the New and Goring methodologies. Waves generated using the Goring methodology served as a benchmark to assess the performance of the proposed New methodology. Comparisons of experimental observations and theoretical solutions for various wave characteristics have shown that the New methodology is capable of generating more accurate solitary waves with less attenuation as waves propagate compared to the Goring methodology. Proposed solitary wave generation methodology is expected to be useful in various laboratory investigations to study different aspects of long wave theories and to simulate tsunamis and internal waves, among others.