Experiments on transverse waves

Transverse Waves (TWs) are waves with the crest lines perpendicular to the wavemaker and have the same frequency as that of incident waves. TWs have been shown to appear in the cross-section of a water channel when the incident-wave wavelength is less than or equal to twice the channel width. TWs are further studied experimentally to investigate their occurrence conditions. A series of experiments are conducted in a channel with rectangular cross-sections and constant width. The characteristics and the occurrence conditions of TWs are obtained. The effects of some parameters, such as the channel width, incident wavelength, driving amplitude and driving frequency, on the occurrence of TWs are investigated. Also shown are the growth rate and maximum amplitude of TWs. A possible resonance mechanism of TW is qualitatively discussed.