Journal article
Freak waves in crossing seas
M Onorato, D Proment, A Toffoli
European Physical Journal Special Topics | SPRINGER HEIDELBERG | Published : 2010
Abstract
We consider the modulational instability in crossing seas as a potential mechanism for the formation of freak waves. The problem is discussed in terms of a system of two coupled Nonlinear Schröedinger equations. The asymptotic validity of such system is discussed. For some specific angles between the two wave trains, the equations reduce to an integrable system. A stability analysis of these equations is discussed. Furthermore, we present an analytical study of the maximum amplification factor for an unstable plane wave solution. Results indicate that angles between 10° and 30° are the most probable for establishing a freak wave sea. We show that the theoretical expectations are consistent w..
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Awarded by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Funding Acknowledgements
The numerical simulations were partially performed by using the K.U. Leuven's High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities. Financial support of the Australian Research Council and Woodside Energy Ltd through the grant LP0883888 is also acknowledged. MO acknowledge funding from EU project EXTREME SEAS, Grant agreement no.: 234175, O.N.R and Army Corp of Engineers. We thank Al Osborne, J. Monbaliu and M. Serio for always fruitful discussions.