• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.157-167
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• 2008

The aeration of an overtopping wave on a vertical structure generated by a plunging wave was investigated through laboratory measurements of void fraction. The overtopping wave occurring after wave breaking becomes multi-phased and turbulent with significant aeration, so that the void fraction of the flow is of importance. In this study, fiber optic reflectometer and bubble image velocimetry were employed to measure the void fraction, velocity, and layer thickness of the overtopping flow. Mean properties were obtained by ensembleand time-averaging the repeated instantaneous void fractions and velocities. The mean void fractions show that the overtopping wave is very high-aerated near the overtopping wave front and relatively low-aerated near the deck surface and rear free surface of the wave. The flow rate and momentum of the overtopping flow estimated using the measured data show that the void ratio is an important parameter to consider in the multiphase flow. From the similarity profiles of the depth-averaged void fraction, velocity, and layer thickness, one-dimensional empirical equations were obtained and used to estimate the flow rate and momentum of the overtopping flow.