Report 10 Calm Surface 劉富蘭克林

Problem # 10 Calm Surface When wind blows across a water surface, waves can be observed. If the water is covered by an oil layer, the waves on the water surface will diminish. Investigate the phenomenon.   2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Overview Introduction Experiment Results and Discussion Observation Problem Analysis Experiment Experimental Setup Results and Discussion Conclusions & Summary References 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Introduction Observation Water surface waves can be categorized into two types: Capillary wave regime (wavelength<1.73cm) Gravity wave regime (wavelength>1.73cm) 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Introduction Wind on water surface: 1. Wind picks up on small disturbances on water surface, giving the waves energy. 2. The water oscillates in a circular motion 3.The surface becomes a trochoid 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Wind on oil over water surface: Gibbs elasticity: Change of surface tension to change of area of surfactant layer. different wave speeds in different materials-> phase difference in water and oil layer-> shear gradient Oil applies a reaction force on wave -> Energy loss Behroozi, Peter. Et. Al. The calming effect of oil on water. AJP, Vol. 75, Issue 5, pp. 407-414 (2007) 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Calming effect failure: Large waves (gravity wave regime) Oil layer may be broken and lose calming effect Thick layer of oil on water surface: Wave height is much smaller than oil layer thickness Waves form directly on oil surface oil water 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment Parameters: Oil layer thickness Wind speed (small waves vs. large waves) Attenuation of point-source waves through a distance 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment Setup Wide ripple tank (55x55 cm2) Light projector Crossflow fan with parallel vanes Screen and camera 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment Setup Second ripple tank with wave generator and stroboscope Micro-pipette Mineral oil Anemometer 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment Method The fan is turned on, and ripples start to form. The projector projects the image onto the screen. A camera on fixed manual adjustments is used to capture the images 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment Method Light bands indicate crests 1cm Light bands indicate crests Dark bands indicate troughs If the waves were larger, the brightness of the photos would be more contrasted By analyzing the brightness deviation of the photo, we can compare the “roughness” of the surfaces 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment 1: Oil layer thickness Different amounts of oil are used added to the water surface (total thickness=1cm): Pure water 1ml oil-> thickness: 4.7x10-6 m 5ml oil-> thickness: 1.6x10-5 m 20ml oil-> thickness: 6.6x10-5 m 1.5L of water+ 1.5L of oil-> thickness: 0.5 cm 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment 1: Oil layer thickness Wind speed: 7.7m/s ½ water+oil 1ml oil 5ml oil 20ml oil pure water 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment 1: Oil layer thickness Video: Disturbances on water surface when shear stress is applied 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment 1: Results Oil resists the shear gradient applied by water waves (Gibbs elasticity) -> Calming effect A thin layer of oil has the best calming effect If excess oil is used, ripples form directly on the oil 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment 2: Wind speed Wind speed:7.7 m/s Wind speed:6.4 m/s Oil has better calming effect when wind speed is lower, because at high wind speeds the oil layer tends to break 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment 3: Attenuation of waves 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Experiment 3: Attenuation of waves Oil on water also has attenuation effect on point-source waves The frequency remains unchanged Oil on water Pure water 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Conclusions & Summary Waves travel at different speeds in different media The Gibbs elasticity property of an oil film makes it resist the shear gradient applied by water waves -> Calming effect 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Conclusions & Summary Oil layer thickness: Wind speed: A thin layer of oil has the best calming effect If excess oil is used, ripples form directly on the oil Wind speed: Oil has better calming effect when wind speed is lower, because at high wind speeds the oil layer tends to break Attenuation of waves from a point source: While enhancing the decay of the waves, the frequency remains unchanged 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

References Behroozi, Peter. Et. Al. The calming effect of oil on water. AJP, Vol. 75, Issue 5, pp. 407-414 (2007) 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林

Thank you! 23rd IYPT 2010 劉富蘭克林 2nd TYPT 2010 1st TYPT 2009 2019/1/18 Reporter: 劉富蘭克林