On the generation of waves by wind

Abstract

The fully developed laminar flow of air over water confined between two infinite parallel plates was used to study nonlinear effects in the generation of surface waves. A linear stability analysis of the basic flow was made and the conditions at which small amplitude surface waves first begin to grow were determined. Then, following Stewartson & Stuart (1971), the nonlinear stability of the flow was examined and the usual parabolic equation with cubic nonlinearity obtained for the amplitude of the disturbances. The calculation of the linear stability characteristics and the coefficients appearing in the amplitude equation was a lengthy computational task, with most interest centred on the coefficient of the nonlinear terms in the amplitude equation. In two profiles, used as crude models of a boundary layer flow of air over water, the calculations indicated that, over a range of parameters, the non-linear effects would reduce the growth rate of the surface waves and hence lead to equilibrium amplitude waves.