Numerical study on plume interaction above an alternating diffuser in stagnant water

Abstract

The plume interaction above an alternating diffuser in stagnant water is studied with 3D Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations (RANS) combined with a buoyancy-extended k-ε model. The steady three-dimensional turbulent flow and temperature fields are computed by use of the finite volume method on a non-uniform high resolution orthogonal grid. The numerical predictions demonstrate a generic flow pattern for different turbulent heated jet discharges: the buoyant jets on each side of the diffuser first merge to form an essentially two-dimensional plume which bends back toward the diffuser centerline due to a low pressure cavity. In general, an under-pressure exists in the cavity until the plumes merge; the pressure increases to slightly positive afterwards. Two-dimensionality of the scalar and flow field is attained much later than the point of zero pressure. The position of merging point is governed by mainly four parameters - the discharge densimetric Froude number, the port diameter and space, and the horizontal distance between alternating jet nozzles. A formula from numerical simulations is obtained through regression analysis and it is used to predict the position of plume merging point. The predicted temperature fields are comparable to previous experiments.