4.II.37E
Consider flow of an incompressible fluid of uniform density and dynamic viscosity . Show that the rate of viscous dissipation per unit volume is given by
where is the strain rate.
Determine expressions for and when the flow is irrotational with velocity potential . Hence determine the rate of viscous dissipation, averaged over a wave period , for an irrotational two-dimensional surface wave of wavenumber and small amplitude in a fluid of very small viscosity and great depth .
[You may use without derivation that in deep water a linearised wave with surface displacement has velocity potential .]
Calculate the depth-integrated time-averaged kinetic energy per wavelength. Assuming that the average potential energy is equal to the average kinetic energy, show that the total wave energy decreases to leading order like , where