Abstract
Wave action, particularly during storms, drives the evo lution of beaches. Beach evolution by non-linear break ing waves is poorly understood due to its three-dimensional character, the range of scales involved, and our limited understanding of particle-wave interactions. We show how a novel, three-phase extension to the classic “Hele-Shaw‿ laboratory experiment can be designed that creates beach morphologies with breaking waves in a quasi-two-dimensional setting. Our thin Hele-Shaw cell simplifies the inherent complexity of three-phase dynamics: all dynamics become clearly visible and measurable. We show that beaches can be created in tens of minutes by several types of breaking waves, with about one-second periods. Quasi-steady beach morphologies emerge as function of initial water depth, at-rest bed level and wave-maker frequency. These are classified mathematically and lead to beaches, berms and sand bars.
| Original language | Undefined |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Enschede |
| Publisher | University of Twente, Department of Applied Mathematics |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2013 |
Publication series
| Name | Memorandum |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Twente |
| No. | 2004 |
| ISSN (Print) | 1874-4850 |
| ISSN (Electronic) | 1874-4850 |
Keywords
- IR-84385
- METIS-296293
- EWI-23056
- Water waves
- Granular Flows
- Geophysical fluid dynamics
- Coastal engineering
Cite this
Bokhove, O., van der Horn, AB., van der Horn, A. J., van der Meer, R. M., Gagarina, E., Zweers, W., & Thornton, A. R. (2013). Revisiting Hele-Shaw dynamics to better understand beach evolution. (Memorandum; No. 2004). Enschede: University of Twente, Department of Applied Mathematics.