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Vortical structures, entrainment and mixing process in the lateral discharge of the gravity current

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Abstract

Lateral gravity currents can play a critical role in the exchange of materials between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The three-dimensional flow structure and mixing process of the gravity current, discharged from a lateral rectangular lock into an ambient fluid, are investigated by solving Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the RNG k-ε turbulence model. The accuracy and consistency of the developed model are checked using the experimental data of the lock-exchange in the straight channel, lateral flow in the open channel and mass exchange in the cavity. The agreement between measured and simulated flow and concentration fields is reasonable. The lateral gravity current without the main channel discharge spreads radially out and is arrested by the other bank of the main channel. Before reaching the other bank, the lateral gravity current evolves into the acceleration, slumping, and inertial phases. The gravity current remains in the slumping phase at a straight channel without the tributary. The mixing layer is more diluted at the lateral gravity current. As the main channel discharge increases, the symmetry plume is broken, and the dense fluid propagation is limited toward the confluence upstream. The time-evolution of discharged spatially averaged density decreases due to increasing the main channel discharge. The mixing process assessment indicated that the entrainmant of the lateral gravity current without the main channel discharge is more intense compared with the cases having discharge. The decreasing lateral Froude number associated with increasing main channel discharge leads to a decrease in the entrainment.

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  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran

    Sharareh Mahmodinia & Mitra Javan

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  1. Sharareh Mahmodinia
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  2. Mitra Javan
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Mahmodinia, S., Javan, M. Vortical structures, entrainment and mixing process in the lateral discharge of the gravity current. Environ Fluid Mech 21, 1035–1067 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-021-09808-3

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