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Uncertainty of propagation and entrainment characteristics of lock-exchange gravity current

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Abstract

In this study, repeated lock-exchange experiments under well-controlled conditions were carried out to evaluate the uncertainty of the macro-propagation and entrainment process and the statistical variation/correlation of the current parameters. The results show that the lobe and cleft structures grow in amplitude while short in wavelength as current propagates, which enlarges the uncertainty of the gravity current propagation. A larger density difference inhibits the split process of the lobe and cleft structures and reduces the fluctuation degree of the current front edge. The macroscopic propagation parameters of the gravity current for the repeated experiment all meet the normal distribution, confirmed by the Shapiro–Wilk test. The mapping relationship between the dimensionless current front velocity and the front height forms a “circle-shaped” mode, while the corresponding relationship between the dimensionless current front velocity and the front height performs wedge-shaped. The evolution trend of the variation coefficient of the mixing layer area is that the two quasi-stationary periods are connected by a sharp decline. The variability of the former quasi-stationary period is stronger than the latter one, and the variation strength of the two quasi-stationary periods is both positively correlated with the initial density difference. The uncertainty at the early stage of the entrainment process is dominated due to the evolution of the mixing layer. However, the lobe and cleft structure provide another uncertainty source of the entrainment coefficient at the later stage. In addition, the uncertainty of the current propagation brought by image resolution is far less than that formed by the evolution of the gravity current itself.

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Funding

This work was partially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0405502), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52171276, 41876089), the Key Research and Development Plan of China (2021YFE0206200), the Science Foundation of Donghai Laboratory (Grant No. DH-2022KF01016), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LR16E090001, LY20A020009), and Research Funding of Shenzhen City (JCYJ20160425164642646).

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  1. Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang Province, China

    Yeping Yuan, Dongrui Han, Zhiguo He, Jie Xiong, Jiaxin Zhang & Yingtien Lin

  2. Donghai Laboratory, Zhoushan, 316021, Zhejiang Province, China

    Yingtien Lin

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  1. Yeping Yuan
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Contributions

DRH, YTL and YPY proposed the concept and design of laboratory experiments. JX and JXZ carried out laboratory experiments. YPY, ZGH, and YTL provided the methodology for data analysis. JX, DRH, and JXZ analyzed the experimental data. YPY, YTL, and DRH wrote the original draft of the manuscript, and ZGH reviewed and edited the manuscript. Funding projects were acquired by YPY, YTL, and ZGH. YPY prepared Figs. 1, 23 and 9. YTL and DRH prepared the rest of the figures. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yingtien Lin.

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Yuan, Y., Han, D., He, Z. et al. Uncertainty of propagation and entrainment characteristics of lock-exchange gravity current. Environ Fluid Mech 23, 19–39 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-022-09904-y

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