Wave Formation ahead of a Planing Plate

Abstract

The results of experiments on the motion of a plate rigidly fastened to a dynamometric trolley performed in the water channel of Moscow State University are presented. The wave wake behind the body and the flow ahead of it in a finite-depth fluid were investigated at near-critical velocities of the motion and small planing angles. The observations show that a steady periodic wave wake occurs together with a nose wave of fixed shape, while in the case of detached rear waves the waves are excited ahead of the planing plate. The well-known Russell formula for the solitary wave amplitude is experimentally confirmed. It is shown that, accurate to small parameters, it coincides with Lavrent’ev’s results. The experimental conditions are numerically simulated using the XFlow™ software package. The results of the experiments performed in the water channel are in agreement with the numerical results.