The solitary wave of maximum amplitude

Abstract

The maximum amplitude of the solitary wave of constant form is determined to be 0·83b, where b is the depth far from the crest. In the analysis it is assumed that the crest is pointed and the motion is two-dimensional and irrotational. The complex velocity potential is expressed in terms of known singularities and an infinite power series with unknown coefficients. Approximate solutions are obtained by truncating the power series after N terms, where N = 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. The amplitude, a measure of the error, and several other pertinent quantities are computed for each value of N.