Investigating discrepancies between jet and plume in mean and turbulent flow of 45o inclined dense jets

Abstract

Rapid expansion in the desalination industry in the last few years has led to the release of substantial quantities of concentrate and highly saline wastewater (brine) into marine environments. To mitigate the environmental consequences, the flow is discharged in depth from single or multi-port diffusers with inclined jets. This technique is used to enhance flow mixing and entrainment in the receiving water. To study flow turbulent characteristics along the jet-to-plume transition zone, a Laser Induced Fluorescence technique has been used. The dynamics of concentration fluctuations in the 45o inclined dense jets were investigated, and the extent of entrainment into the jet core or the length of the non-zero intermittency zone was identified. Intensity and intermittency of the fluctuations across the flow path together with energy spectrums at different points were plotted. The results show that turbulence kinetic energy spectrums resemble the −5/3 power law of Kolmogorov theory for the inertial subrange.