Experiments on turbulence beneath a free surface in a stationary field generated by a Crump weir: free surface characteristics and the relevant scales

This work concerns the analysis of experimental instantaneous fluid levels and three-component fluid velocity measurements in a stationary flow field generated by a Crump weir in a laboratory flume using an ultrasonic distance sensor and a three-probe arrangement of an ultrasonic Doppler velocity profiler. The tests are characterised by different and increasing Froude numbers (Fr = 0.10–0.38), with the free surface of the fluid ranging from flat (low Froude number) to almost aerated (high Froude number). The statistics of the free surface are computed, and the relevant length and velocity scales are measured. A free-surface boundary layer was detected having a thickness proportional to the root mean square of the free-surface height series and with a velocity scale that related well to the free-surface elevation time gradient. The mean velocity profiles are presented. There are many indicators that a specific regime occurs with an optimal tuning between free surface and turbulence. In this regime, the length scales are raised.