Measurements of Sub-Surface Velocity Fields in Quasi-2D Faraday Flow

TL;DR

This study measures and analyzes the sub-surface velocity fields in quasi-2D Faraday flow using high-resolution PIV, revealing a sharp velocity drop below the surface and larger, slower flow structures beneath.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurements of sub-surface velocity fields in Faraday flow, highlighting the velocity decay and scale differences below the surface.

Findings

Velocity drops sharply within 5 mm below the surface

Sub-surface flow structures are larger and slower than surface structures

Flow structures below the surface are persistent over time

Abstract

Faraday waves are capillary ripples that form on the surface of a fluid being subject to vertical shaking. Although it is well known that the form and shape of the waves pattern depend on driving amplitude and frequency, only recent studies discovered the existence of a horizontal velocity field at the surface, called Faraday flow, which exhibits attributes of two-dimensional turbulence. However, despite the increasing attention towards the inverse energy flux in the Faraday flow and other not strictly two-dimensional systems, very little is known about the velocity fields developing beneath the fluid surface. In this study planar velocity fields are measured by means of particle image velocimetry (PIV) with high spatial and temporal resolution on the water surface and below it. A sudden drop in velocity is observed immediately below the water surface, such that at 5 mm below the water surface the mean absolute velocities are already about 6.5 times smaller than the surface velocity. Additionally, the flow structures below the surface are found to comprise much larger spatial scales than those on the surface. These large structures are also found to be slow and temporarily persistent, as proven by analysing the autocorrelation of the velocity fields in time.