Quantitative analysis of nonlinear water-waves: A perspective of an experimentali

Abstract

In the present review the emphasis is put on laboratory studies of propagating water waves where experiments were designed with the purpose to enable juxtaposing the measurement results with the theoretical predictions, thus providing a basis for evaluation of the domain of validity of various nonlinear theoretical model of different complexity. In particular, evolution of deterministic wave groups of different shapes and several values of characteristic nonlinearity is studied in deep and intermediate-depth water. Experiments attempting to generate extremely steep (rogue) waves are reviewed in greater detail. Relation between the kinematics of steep nonlinear waves and incipient breaking is considered. Discussion of deterministic wave systems is followed by review of laboratory experiments on propagation of numerous realizations of random wave groups with different initial spectra. The experimental results are compared with the corresponding Monte-Carlo numerical simulations based on different models.