Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T03:27:45.313Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Introduction: Basic Theory of Surface Waves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2009

N. Kuznetsov
Affiliation:
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
V. Maz'ya
Affiliation:
Linköpings Universitet, Sweden
B. Vainberg
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Get access

Summary

Here we give a brief account of physical assumptions (first section) and the mathematical approximation (second section) used for developing a mathematical model of water waves. The resulting linear boundary value problems are formulated in the third and fourth sections for the wave-body interaction and ship waves, respectively.

Mathematical Formulation

Conventions

Water waves (the terms surface waves and gravity waves are also in use) are created normally by a gravitational force in the presence of a free surface along which the pressure is constant. There are two ways to describe these waves mathematically. It is possible to trace the paths of individual particles (a Lagrangian description), but in this book an alternative form of equations (usually referred to as Eulerian) is adopted. The motion is determined by the velocity field in the domain occupied by water at every moment of the time t.

Water is assumed to occupy a certain domain W bounded by one or more moving or fixed surfaces that separate water from some other medium. Actually we consider boundaries of two types: the above-mentioned free surface separating water from the atmosphere, and rigid surfaces including the bottom and surfaces of bodies floating in and/or beneath the free surface.

It is convenient to use rectangular coordinates (x1, x2, y) with origin in the free surface at rest (which usually coincides with the mean free surface), and with the y axis directed opposite to the acceleration caused by gravity.

Type
Chapter
Information
Linear Water Waves
A Mathematical Approach
, pp. 1 - 18
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×