Experimental Investigation of Turbulence Specifications of 3-D Density Currents

Author(s):  
B. Firoozabadi ◽  
H. Afshin ◽  
A. Baghaer Poor

The present study investigates the turbulence characteristic of density current experimentally. The 3D Acoustic-Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was used to measure the instantaneous velocity and characteristics of the turbulent flow. The courses of experiment were conducted in a three-dimensional channel for different discharge flows, concentrations, and bed slopes. Results are expressed at various distances from the inlet, for all flow rates, slopes and concentrations as the distribution of turbulence energy, Reynolds stress and the turbulent intensity. It was concluded that the maximum turbulence intensity happens in both the interface and near the wall. Also it was observed that turbulence intensity reaches its minimum where maximum velocity occurs.

Author(s):  
Behnam Zamani ◽  
Manfred Koch ◽  
Ben R. Hodges

In this study, effects of basin morphology are shown to affect density current hydrodynamics of a large reservoir using a three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic model that is validated (but not calibrated) with in situ observational data. The AEM3D hydrodynamic model was applied for 5-month simulations during winter and spring flooding for the Maroon reservoir in southwest Iran, where available observations indicated that large-scale density currents had previously occurred. The model results were validated with near-bottom water temperature measurements that were previously collected at five locations in the reservoir. The Maroon reservoir consists of upper and lower basins that are connected by a deep and narrow canyon. Analyses of simulations show that the canyon strongly affects density current propagation and the resulting differing limnological characteristics of the two basins. The evolution of the Wedderburn Number, Lake Number, and Schmidt stability number are shown to be different in the two basins, and the difference is attributable to the morphological separation by the canyon. Investigation of the background potential energy (BPE) changes along the length of the canyon indicated that a density front passes through the upper section of the canyon but is smoothed into simple filling of the lower basin. The separable dynamics of the basins has implications for the complexity of models needed for representing both water quality and sedimentation.


Author(s):  
B. Firoozabadi ◽  
H. Afshin ◽  
E. Safaaee

Density currents are continuous currents which move down-slope due to the fact that their density is greater than that of ambient water. The density difference is caused by temperature differences, chemical elements, dissolved materials, or suspended sediment. Many researchers have studied the density current structures, their complexities and uncertainties. However, there is not a detailed 3-D turbulent density current data set perfectly. In this work, the structure of 3-dimensional salt solution density currents is investigated. A laboratory channel was used to study the flow resulting from the release of salt solution into freshwater over an inclined bed. The experiments were conducted with different bottom slopes, inlet concentrations and flow rates. In these tests, the instantaneous velocities are measured by an ADV apparatus (Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter). Results show that by increasing the bed-slope and inlet concentrations, the height of the current decreases. As the density current moves downward the channel or by increasing the discharge, the height of the density current increases. Finally, the effects of different variables such as the bed slope, concentration and flow rate of entering fluid on the velocity profile in different distances from the entrance is studied. The entrainment coefficient, lateral spreading and drag coefficient of the bed and shear layer between salt solution and ambient water is discussed.


2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Hormozi ◽  
B. Firoozabadi ◽  
H. Ghasvari Jahromi ◽  
S. M. H. Moosavi Hekmati

Flows generated by density differences are called gravity or density currents which are generic features of many environmental flows. These currents are classified as the conservative and non-conservative flows whether the buoyancy flux is conserved or changed respectively. In this paper, a low Reynolds k-ε turbulence model is used to simulate three dimensional density and turbidity currents. Also, a series of experiments were conducted in a straight channel to study the characteristics of the non-conservative density current. In experiments, Kaolin was used as the suspended material. Comparisons are made between conservative and non-conservative's height, concentration and velocity profiles of the current and their variations along the transverse intersections. Outcomes indicate that the presence of the particles influences the flow structure sensibly. The results are compared with the experiments and showed a good agreement.


2005 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 923-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano I. Cantero ◽  
S. Balachandar ◽  
Marcelo H. García ◽  
James P. Ferry

The collapse of a heavy fluid column in a lighter environment is studied by direct numerical simulation of the Navier-Stokes equations using the Boussinesq approximation for small density difference. Such phenomenon occurs in many engineering and environmental problems resulting in a density current spreading over a no-slip boundary. In this work, density currents corresponding to two Grashof (Gr) numbers are investigated (105 and 1.5×106) for two very different geometrical configurations, namely, planar and cylindrical, with the goal of identifying differences and similarities in the flow structure and dynamics. The numerical model is capable of reproducing most of the two- and three-dimensional flow structures previously observed in the laboratory and in the field. Soon after the release of the heavier fluid into the quiescent environment, a density current forms exhibiting a well-defined head with a hanging nose followed by a shallower body and tail. In the case of large Gr, the flow evolves in a three-dimensional fashion featuring a pattern of lobes and clefts in the intruding front and substantial three-dimensionality in the trailing body. For the case of the lower Gr, the flow is completely two dimensional. The dynamics of the current is visualized and explained in terms of the mean flow for different phases of spreading. The initial phase, known as slumping phase, is characterized by a nearly constant spreading velocity and strong vortex shedding from the front of the current. Our numerical results show that this spreading velocity is influenced by Gr as well as the geometrical configuration. The slumping phase is followed by a decelerating phase in which the vortices move into the body of the current, pair, stretch and decay as viscous effects become important. The simulated dynamics of the flow during this phase is in very good agreement with previously reported experiments.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Vaghefi ◽  
Masoud Ghodsian ◽  
Maryam Akbari

The flow field around a T-shaped spur dike located in a 90° bend is investigated experimentally. The three-dimensional Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was used for measuring the flow field. The comparison of the three dimensional components of velocity was made in different sections of the bend and the differences of the flow pattern along the bend was analyzed. The observations showed the significant effect of the spur dike on the secondary flow patterns. Some horizontal vortices with a counter-clock-wise direction were also observed in the up and down stream of the spur dike near the outer bank of the bend. In addition, the vortices and reverse flows in the up and down stream of the spur dike, the changes of the secondary flow and vorticity are also addressed in this study.


2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Firoozabadi ◽  
H. Afshin ◽  
J. Sheikhi

The height of a dense layer underflow is defined as the interface between a dyed saline solution fluid and colorless ambient fluid. In this paper, the density current height or vision height of three-dimensional saline water under pure water is measured empirically, and the relation of this parameter with the location of maximum velocity is investigated. Because of the absence of a clear interface between the dense underflow and pure water, researchers were unable to define a unique parameter for the evaluation of density current height. The parameters used by some researchers include the height corresponding to the location of maximum, half-maximum, and quarter-maximum velocity in the velocity profiles. In this work, the velocity components were measured by an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV), and corresponding parameters were computed based on these velocities. In this laboratory, channel walls were made of glass, so in all experiments the vision height of the dense layer could be measured. Therefore, a relation between the velocity profiles and the dense layer height was established. Results show that dense layer height has a close correlation with height corresponding to the location of the quarter-maximum velocity. Finally, the effects of concentration, bed slope, and discharge on the dense layer height were studied. Experimental data also show that an increase in the inlet flow rate leads to an increase in the dense layer height, and this parameter decreases with an increase in the bed slope or concentration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (19) ◽  
pp. 4040
Author(s):  
Zhiping Guo ◽  
Xihuan Sun ◽  
Zhiyong Dong

Fishways can assist fish species to overcome obstacles for performing spawning, feeding, and overwintering migrations. Flow structures in a flat-crested weir-type fishway were experimentally studied. Variations of time-averaged velocity, turbulence intensity, and Reynolds stress with longitudinal and vertical directions and flow rates were analyzed. Also, flow patterns in the longitudinal profile were given. The experiments were carried out in a large scale fishway model in the Hydraulics Laboratory at Zhejiang University of Technology. Two typical flow rates corresponding to detection and preference velocities of fish species were considered. Five different horizontal planes for each flow rate were taken. Eleven transverse lines were arranged for each horizontal plane. Ten measuring points were laid along each transverse line. Three-dimensional velocity at each measuring point was measured by acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV). Longitudinal and vertical time-averaged velocity distributions, longitudinal turbulence intensity distribution on the different horizontal planes, vertical turbulent intensity distribution along flow depth, and Reynolds stress distributions on the different horizontal planes and on the different cross-sections in the pool of fishway were analyzed. The experimental results showed that distribution of longitudinal velocity was characterized by topology, which constituted an apparent vertical vortex. Weir flow exhibited skimming flow in the fishway pool. Peak-value range of longitudinal turbulent intensity existed. The amplitude of variation in Reynolds stress near the surface layer reached the maximum, which provided a certain hydraulic condition for fish that favor jumping near the surface layer. This study uncovers three-dimensional flow structures, especially for turbulence characteristics, which can contribute to improving the design of crested weir fishway and to assisting fish species to pass smoothly through fishway, being of potential application value.


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