Experimental investigation of the load exerted by nonstationary internal solitary waves on a submerged slender body over a slope

•Experiments on load exerted by nonstationary ISW on the submerged slender body over a slope are conducted.•The characteristic of the nonstationary ISW is determined by its amplitude and propagation positions.•The loads reach the extreme point and action directions change in the pycnocline.•The load’s action time varies with the slender body’s positions.•Oscillation action appears because of the ISW’s distortion and breaking.

Laboratory experiments are performed in a large stratified fluid flume to examine the characteristics of the load on a submerged slender body that is exerted by a nonstationary internal solitary wave (ISW) from its interaction with a gentle slope. The nonstationary ISW over the slope and its load on the body are measured by using multi-channel conductivity-probe arrays and a specially designed force measurement device, respectively, and the body’s vertical and horizontal positions on the load are determined by analyzing the effects of the incident ISW’s amplitude. The experimental results show that the load on the slender body increases as the incident ISW’s amplitude increases; additionally, the effect of oscillations is enhanced because of the ISW’s distortion, breaking and fission. The oscillating action from fission waves becomes dominant as the amplitude reaches a certain value. Additionally, the load is correlated with body’s vertical position relative to the pycnocline. The magnitudes of the vertical and horizontal forces reach a maximum and minimum in the pycnocline, respectively, and the horizontal force in this direction is the opposite above and below the pycnocline. Compared to a case without a slope, the load on the slender body increases because of the nonstationary ISW, and its effect on the maximum force is transferred to the pycnocline. When the body’s horizontal position is located close to the top of the slope, the direction of the horizontal and vertical forces remains consistent, but its acting time becomes longer. In addition, high-frequency actions on the slender body are impacted by nonstationary ISWs near the slope’s top.