Abstract
Results are presented from a research project in which the DNS technique is applied for the first time to study fundamental physical properties of intrusion fronts. The prototype flow considered is the lock-exchange flow, i.e. the mutual intrusion of two fluids of different density in a plane channel. The numerical simulations are based on the Boussinesq equations, where density variations are assumed to be small. For the spatial discretization spectral and spectral-element techniques are employed. Two-dimensional simulations up to Grashof numbers of 2·109 are presented, and the influence of viscous forces on speed and structure of the propagating fronts is assessed. A careful validation of the findings by comparison with experimental observations and a three-dimensional simulation at lower Grashof number is performed. Moreover, the pronounced three-dimensional lobe-and-cleft instability is addressed, which is commonly observed at the head of propagating intrusion fronts.
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Härtel, C. (1999). A DNS study of structure and stability properties of intrusion fronts. In: Biringen, S., Örs, H., Tezel, A., Ferziger, J.H. (eds) Industrial and Environmental Applications of Direct and Large-Eddy Simulation. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 529. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0106108
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0106108
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