Long-range sediment transport in the world’s oceans by stably stratified turbidity currents

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Direct numerical simulation of cylindrical particle-laden gravity currents

We present results from direct numerical simulations (DNS) of cylindrical particle-laden gravity currents. We consider the case of a full depth release with monodisperse particles at a dilute concentration where particle–particle interactions may be neglected. The disperse phase is treated as a continuum and a two-fluid formulation is adopted. We present results from two simulations at Reynolds numbers of 3450 and 10,000. Our results are in good agreement with previously reported experiments and theoretical models. At early times in the simulations, we observe a set of rolled up vortices that advance at varying speeds. These Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) vortex tubes are generated at the surface and exhibit a counter-clockwise rotation. In addition to the K–H vortices, another set of clockwise rotating vortex tubes initiate at the bottom surface and play a major role in the near wall dynamics. These vortex structures have a strong influence on wall shear-stress and deposition pattern. Their relations are explored as well

Propagation and deposition of non-circular finite release particle-laden currents

The dynamics of non-axisymmetric turbidity currents is considered here for a range of Reynolds numbers of O(10^4) when based on the initial height of the release. The study comprises a series of experiments and highly resolved simulations for which a finite volume of particle-laden solution is released into fresh water. A mixture of water and polystyrene particles of mean diameter dp=300 μm and mixture density ρc=1012 kg/m^3 is initially confined in a hollow cylinder at the centre of a large tank filled with fresh water. Cylinders with two different cross-sectional shapes, but equal cross-sectional areas, are examined: a circle and a rounded rectangle in which the sharp corners are smoothened. The time evolution of the front is recorded as well as the spatial distribution of the thickness of the final deposit via the use of a laser triangulation technique. The dynamics of the front and final deposit are significantly influenced by the initial geometry, displaying substantial azimuthal variation especially for the rectangular case where the current extends farther and deposits more particles along the initial minor axis of the rectangular cross-section. Several parameters are varied to assess the dependence on the settling velocity, initial height aspect ratio and volume fraction. Even though resuspension is not taken into account in our simulations, good agreement with experiments indicates that it does not play an important role in the front dynamics, in terms of velocity and extent of the current. However, wall shear stress measurements show that incipient motion of particles and particle transport along the bed are likely to occur in the body of the current and should be accounted to properly capture the final deposition profile of particles

Suspension-Driven gravity surges on horizontal surfaces: Effect of the initial shape

We present results from highly resolved direct numerical simulations of canonical (axisymmetric and planar) and non-canonical (rectangular) configurations of horizontal suspension-driven gravity surges. We show that the dynamics along the initial minor and major axis of a rectangular release are roughly similar to that of a planar and axisymmetric current, respectively. However, contrary to expectation, we observe under certain conditions the final extent of the deposit from finite releases to surpass that from an equivalent planar current. This is attributed to a converging flow of the particle-laden mixture toward the initial minor axis, a behaviour that was previously reported for scalar-driven currents on uniform slopes [31]. This flow is observed to be correlated with the travelling of a perturbation wave generated at the extremity of the longest side that reaches the front of the shortest side in a finite time. A semi-empirical explicit expression (based on established relations for planar and axisymmetric currents) is proposed to predict the extent of the deposit in the entire x-y plane. Finally, we observe that for the same initial volume of a suspension-driven gravity surge, a release of larger initial horizontal aspect-ratio is able to retain particles in suspension for longer periods of time

Large eddy simulation of turbidity currents in a narrow channel with different obstacle configurations

© 2020, The Author(s). Turbidity currents are frequently observed in natural and man-made environments, with the potential of adversely impacting the performance and functionality of hydraulic structures through sedimentation and reduction in storage capacity and an increased erosion. Construction of obstacles upstream of hydraulic structures is a common method of tackling adverse effects of turbidity currents. This paper numerically investigates the impacts of obstacle’s height and geometrical shape on the settling of sediments and hydrodynamics of turbidity currents in a narrow channel. A robust numerical model based on LES method was developed and successfully validated against physical modelling measurements. This study modelled the effects of discretization of particles size distribution on sediment deposition and propagation in the channel. Two obstacles geometry including rectangle and triangle were studied with varying heights of 0.06, 0.10 and 0.15 m. The results show that increasing the obstacle height will reduce the magnitude of dense current velocity and sediment transport in narrow channels. It was also observed that the rectangular obstacles have more pronounced effects on obstructing the flow of turbidity current, leading to an increase in the sediment deposition and mitigating the impacts of turbidity currents

Large eddy simulation of turbidity currents in a narrow channel with different obstacle configurations

Turbidity currents are frequently observed in natural and man-made environments, with the potential of adversely impacting the performance and functionality of hydraulic structures through sedimentation and reduction in storage capacity and an increased erosion. Construction of obstacles upstream of hydraulic structures is a common method of tackling adverse effects of turbidity currents. This paper numerically investigates the impacts of obstacle’s height and geometrical shape on the settling of sediments and hydrodynamics of turbidity currents in a narrow channel. A robust numerical model based on LES method was developed and successfully validated against physical modelling measurements. This study modelled the effects of discretization of particles size distribution on sediment deposition and propagation in the channel. Two obstacles geometry including rectangle and triangle were studied with varying heights of 0.06, 0.10 and 0.15 m. The results show that increasing the obstacle height will reduce the magnitude of dense current velocity and sediment transport in narrow channels. It was also observed that the rectangular obstacles have more pronounced effects on obstructing the flow of turbidity current, leading to an increase in the sediment deposition and mitigating the impacts of turbidity currents

Direct Numerical Simulations of Multiphase, Stratified, Environmental Fluid Flows

Many fundamental processes in oceanic transport and limnology occur in geophysical flows that are both local in space and transient in time, and that require equally space and time-resolved methods of analysis. The importance of providing physics-based, quantitative modeling of such flows has driven the development of numerical methods for geophysical fluid dynamics for over three decades. Here, we use direct numerical simulations to investigate a range of stratified, particle-laden flows that are accurately described by the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations for an incompressible flow in the Boussinesq limit. We firstly investigate the propagation, transport and mixing dynamics of density-driven gravity currents moving in stratified environments. We propose new models for the intrusion of a turbidity current into a linearly stratified ambient based on three-dimensional simulations. We then describe the interaction between a gravity-current and an internal wave and characterize a phenomenological change in the long-term effect of the interaction at a critical wave height. We then quantify the role of double-diffusive processes in the Dead Sea in Summer and their role in the seasonality of salt crystallization and deposition. We also describe large-scale double-diffusive instabilities that arise in high-Prandtl sedimentary double-diffusive systems such as linearly stratified particle-laden salt water. Finally, we quantify mixing induced by a swarm of small-scale self-propelled organisms migrating in a stratified ambient fluid. We compare the relative contribution to mixing by individual swimmers within the swarm to that of the large-scale motion produced by the collective motion of the swarm