Density exchange flow through a slotted curtain

Abstract

Densimetric exchange How is studied for several types of vertical slotted curtains separating fluids of different density. Critical How theory is used to relate exchange How to densimetric Froude number, , for the case of a single rectangular slot extending over the full How width. Experimental results in a 2-D channel show good agreement with theory over a range of . Incipient exchange flow is shown to start at a critical value of  ≃ 0.5 which is consistent with literature values of critical Froude number governing surface jet How over submerged weirs and arrested surface and bottom wedges. Theoretical results are shown to apply to flow through an array of circular ports if the vertical length scale is chosen as the total height of the port array. Application to a cooling canal is described as a practical example of the use of such curtains.