Numerical Study on Dynamical Structures and the Destratification of Vertical Turbulent Jets in Stratified Environment

Abstract

The law of pollutant emission and diffusion in stratified waters is a common issue. In this paper, numerical study on the interaction between vertical turbulent jets and the pycnocline is carried out to study the problems of jet’s emission through the large eddy simulation (LES). A trigonometric function disturbance (TFD) method is developed to ensure the velocity distribution of the jet in the horizontal plane yield to Gaussian profile. Numerical simulations are carried out in the range of 1.11 < Frp < 4.77, corresponding to 1393 < Rep < 5979, where the Froude number Frp and the Reynolds number Rep are defined at the entrance of pycnocline. The coherent structure and internal waves are observed at the pycnocline during the process of jets impinging. After the impingement, the destratification effects can be found. It can be found that Frp = 3 is a threshold value for the interaction between jets and the pycnocline. When Frp > 3, the interaction becomes intensely. Furthermore, the fitting formula of the radial momentum flux dissipation rate that is used to describe the decay of energy contained by the jets during the impinging process, is established through the dimensionless analysis. As a result, the influence range of the jet on the horizontal plane can be evaluated by Rep. It is also found that the destratification of jets is mainly affected by the velocity of the internal wave induced by jets. In addition, by employing the dimensionless time T related to that velocity, the law of destratification varies with dimensionless time is obtained, which can be summarized as follows: Due to the influence of the first internal wave, the thickness of the pycnocline increases rapidly and reaches a critical value at T = 1.4, after that, the increase of the thickness of the pycnocline becomes linear.