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2024 WWT FTP Project

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7 views2 pages

2024 WWT FTP Project

Uploaded by

quasimamaan0
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Master Thesis

Fourier transform profilometry measurements of wind-driven


surface waves
Keywords: wind waves, ocean, experimental fluid dynamics, multiphase flows

Motivation
Wind blowing over the ocean surface energizes water waves on the surface and induces currents and
turbulence in the water. This wind-water interaction regulates the transfer of gases, energy, and mo-
mentum between the atmosphere and the ocean, making it a critical component of Earth’s climate
system. ETH’s new wind-water-wave tunnel, shown in Figure 1, has been constructed to enable exper-
iments on the interaction between airflow and water flow. Among other capabilities, a fan circulates
air over the water surface at speeds between approximately 3 and 20 m/s, causing surface waves to
grow over the course of the tank length.
The first studies being carried out in this facility are probing the characteristics of the turbulence
generated just beneath the surface by the wind.

Project description
The student will employ Fourier transform profilometry to measure the characteristics of the waves
produced by the wind over a range of conditions. This experimental method involves projecting a
pattern onto the surface of the wavy water and, using a high-speed camera, recording images of the
pattern as viewed from above. The apparent modulation to the pattern in the images caused by the
surface’s waviness is then used to computationally infer the local surface elevation.

Figure 1: The measurement section of the wind-wave channel. Wind blows from left to right. A small
amount of green dye is added to the water to enable laser imaging of the water surface.

1
Processing of the images will thus reveal time-resolved measurements of the local surface elevation
over some spatial area. This elevation field will primarily consist of waves propagating in the wind-ward
direction, but will also involve transverse movements. Understanding the three-dimensional nature of
the wave field is critical to our interpretation of separate water velocimetry measurements, which in
some cases resolve the flow and surface position in only a single plane. More fundamentally, the results
will be used to understand the initial stages of wind-wave growth (in which the wind has only had
enough time to produce disorganized ripples) and the waves’ roles in generating three-dimensional
turbulence in the water just beneath the surface.

Work packages
The project will involve the following steps:

• Consulting literature to understand (a) the current understanding of the physics of wind-driven
wave growth and (b) the implementation of Fourier transform profilometry;
• Selecting appropriate materials (projector, water dye, etc) for the project;
• Developing a small-scale version of the projection and imaging system in a water tank (at ETH
Zentrum) and writing Python code to process the data;
• After initial testing, moving the system to the larger wind-water-wave tunnel at Empa in Düben-
dorf and acquiring data there under a range of wind speeds;
• Using the measured results and existing literature to better understand the development of wind-
driven surface waves.

Requirements
• High motivation and independent working ability

• Knowledge of fluid mechanics


• Coding experience and either knowledge of Python or the desire to learn Python

The project is especially well-suited for students with interests in experiment design, data analysis,
and fluid mechanics. Interested students should apply with their their CV, full transcript, and if
applicable, bachelor’s thesis and semester project, submitted via SiROP or to [email protected].

Details
Supervisors:
Prof. Dr. Filippo Coletti, [email protected]
Dr. Daniel Ruth, [email protected]

Location: Institute of Fluid Dynamics, D-MAVT, ETH Zurich

Earliest start/latest finish: November 2024/September 2025

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