Experimental Study on the Amplitude of a Free Surface Fluctuation

An experimental study was performed to measure the fluctuation phenomena of a free surface in a vessel with or without an internal structure. A flow enters from the bottom and flows out of the side wall nozzles. Characteristics of the free surface fluctuation are investigated in terms of the geometry factors of the vessel and the flow rate. A modified Froude number is proposed to describe the amplitude of a free surface fluctuation. The fluctuation amplitude increases stably with an increase in the ratio of the vessel diameter to the water level in a vessel without an internal structure. When the ratio is greater than about 2, the fluctuation decreases suddenly with an increase in the ratio and it becomes unstable. The fluctuation amplitude is linearly proportional to the square of the Froude number. The amplitude of a free surface fluctuation increases with an increase in the height of an internal structure, but this increasing ratio is reduced when the height becomes higher. Two correlations were developed in terms of the Froude number and geometry factors to predict the amplitude of the free surface fluctuation in a vessel with or without an internal structure.