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Fundamentals of nonlinear wave-particle interactions are studied experimentally in a Hele-Shaw configuration with wave breaking and a dynamic bed. To design this configuration, we determine, mathematically, the gap width which allows inertial flows to survive the viscous damping due to the side walls. Damped wave sloshing experiments compared with simulations confirm that width-averaged potential-flow models with linear momen- 2A n t h o n y T h o r n t o n e t a l .tum damping are adequately capturing the large scale nonlinear wave motion. Subsequently, we show that the four types of wave breaking observed at realworld beaches also emerge on Hele-Shaw laboratory beaches, albeit in idealized forms. Finally, an experimental parameter study is undertaken to quantify the formation of quasi-steady beach morphologies due to nonlinear, breaking waves: berm or dune, beach and bar formation are all classified. Our research reveals that the Hele-Shaw beach configuration allows a wealth of experimental and modelling extensions, including benchmarking of forecast models used in the coastal engineering practice, especially for shingle beaches.

We are interested in the modelling of wave-current interactions around surf zones at beaches. Any model that aims to predict the onset of wave breaking at the breaker line needs to capture both the nonlinearity of the wave and its dispersion. We have therefore formulated the Hamiltonian dynamics of a new water wave model, incorporating both the shallow water and pure potential flow water wave models as limiting systems. It is based on a Hamiltonian reformulation of the variational principle derived by Cotter and Bokhove (2010) by using more convenient variables. Our new model has a three-dimensional velocity field consisting of the full three-dimensional potential velocity field plus extra horizontal velocity components. This implies that only the vertical vorticity component is nonzero. Variational Boussinesq models and Green–Naghdi equations, and extensions thereof, follow directly from the new Hamiltonian formulation after using simplifications of the vertical flow profile. Since the full water wave dispersion is retained in the new model, waves can break. We therefore explore a variational approach to derive jump conditions for the new model and its Boussinesq simplifications

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