Study on the Load Characteristics of Submerged Body Under Internal Solitary Waves on the Continental Shelf and Slope

Based on the high-quality observation data and the numerical simulation, the evolution characteristics of internal solitary waves(ISWs) and the load on the suspend submerged body are studied on the continental shelf and slope separately. The observed ISWs exhibit the first mode depression ISWs. The amplitudes of ISWs on the shelf and slope areas reach 50 m and 80 m, respectively. The upper layer velocity in the westward direction is about 0.8 m/s on the continental shelf and 0.9 m/s on the continental slope during the passing through of ISWs. The lower layer is dominated by the eastward compensating flow. In the vertical direction, the water in front of the wave flows downward, while the water behind the wave flows upward, and the maximum vertical velocity exceeds 0.2 m/s. Numerical simulation results show that the larger the amplitude of ISWs, the larger the load on the submerged body. The force on the submerged body by ISWs is dominated by the vertical force, and the corresponding maximum vertical forces on the continental shelf and slope are-25 kN and-27 kN. The submerged body is subjected to a large counterclockwise moment and the sudden change of the moment will also cause the submerged body to capsize. This paper not only gives a deeper understanding of the characteristics of ISWs from the deep continental slope to the shallow continental shelf, but also has a certain guiding value for the prediction of ISWs and for marine military activities.