Abstract
I consider nonlinear wave motion in shallow water as governed by the KP equation plus perturbations. I have previously shown that broad band, multiply periodic solutions of the KP equation are governed by quasiperiodic Fourier series [Osborne, OMAE 2020]. In the present paper I give a new procedure for extending this analysis to the KP equation plus shallow water Hamiltonian perturbations. We therefore have the remarkable result that a complex class of nonlinear shallow water wave equations has solutions governed by quasiperiodic Fourier series that are a linear superposition of sine waves. Such a formulation is important because it was previously thought that solving nonlinear wave equations by a linear superposition principle was impossible. The construction of these linear superpositions in shallow water in an engineering context is the goal of this paper. Furthermore, I address the nonlinear Fourier analysis of experimental data described by shallow water physics. The wave fields dealt with here are fully two-dimensional and essentially consist of the linear superposition of generalized cnoidal waves, which nonlinearly interact with one another. This includes the class of soliton solutions and their associated Mach stems, both of which are important for engineering applications. The newly discovered phenomenon of “fossil breathers” is also characterized in the formulation. I also discuss the exact construction of Morison equation forces on cylindrical piles in terms of quasiperiodic Fourier series.
Emergent geometries and nonlinear-wave dynamics in photon fluids