A Model for Vertical Transport at a Sheared Density Interface

by Greg Sullivan, Contra Costa Water District, Concord, United States,
E. John List, Contra Costa Water District, Concord, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Hydraulic Engineering

Abstract:

A physically based model for vertical mixing and transport at a sheared density interface is presented, based on high-resolution measurements from laboratory experiments. It is found that two distinct processes control the exchange of fluid across the interface: sporadically occurring interfacial instabilities mix fluid locally in the interfacial region, generating intermediate density fluid; large-scale eddies transport premixed fluid from the interfacial region into adjacent turbulent layers. In the model, three regimes are delineated based on the dominant mixing mechanism active at the interface, leading to three different relations for entrainment.

Subject Headings: Turbulent flow | Fluid dynamics | Fluid flow | Shear flow | Mathematical models | Laminar flow | Density currents

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