Author(s): Janek Laanearu; Katrin Kaur; Daniela Malcangio
Linked Author(s): Daniela Malcangio, Janek Laanearu
Keywords: Stratified flow; Vorticity; Rotating channel; Interfacial mixing; CFD
Abstract: A large-scale circular tank, with a diameter of 13 m and a height of 1.2 m, was used to contact the experimental program in the facility (Coriolis Platform II) at Laboratoire des Ecoulements Geophysiques et Industriels (LEGI) in Grenoble. The tank’s anti-clockwise rotation was used to investigate the Coriolis effects on the dynamics of stratified flow in a trapezoidal-shape channel (De Falco et al, 2021). The experiments were conducted under various background vorticity conditions and at different rates of fresh-water inflow, with the salt-water flow held constant. Experimental measurements included the velocity and density fields at different planes within the channel. A particular aim of the experimental study conducted in Grenoble was to enhance the understanding of turbulent fluxes within the stratified flow’s interfacial shear layer under the influence of background vorticity. To complement the experimental results, the dynamics of exchange flow in the rotating channel with the trapezoidal cross-section was numerically investigated using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling approach (see Fig. 1).
Year: 2024