Direct numerical simulation of three-dimensional open-channel flow with zero-shear gas–liquid interface

Abstract

Turbulence structure in an open-channel flow with a zero-shear gas–liquid interface was numerically investigated by a three-dimensional direct numerical simulation (DNS) based on a fifth-order finite-difference formulation, and the relationship between scalar transfer across a zero-shear gas–liquid interface and organized motion near the interface was discussed. The numerical predictions of turbulence quantities were also compared with the measurements by means of a two-color laser Doppler velocimeter. The results by the DNS show that the vertical motion is restrained in the interfacial region and there the turbulence energy is redistributed from the vertical direction to the streamwise and spanwise directions through the pressure fluctuation. The large-scale eddies are generated by bursting phenomena in the wall region and they are lifted up toward the interfacial region. Then, the eddies renew the interface and promote the scalar transfer across the gas–liquid interface. Both the damping effect and the generation process of the surface-renewal motions predicted by the DNS explain well the experimental results deduced in previously published studies. Furthermore, the predicted bursting frequency and mass transfer coefficient are in good agreement with the measurements.