Shore Attachment of Buoyant Effluent in Strong Crossflow

Abstract

The shore attachment of buoyant effluent in a strong crossflow is investigated experimentally. The effluent, in the form of a thermal plume deflected by the crossflow, is created in the laboratory by discharging warm water from a side channel into an open-channel crossflow of the same depth as the side-channel discharge. The plume has a tendency to lift off the channel bottom and move away from the shoreline. However, if the crossflow is sufficiently strong, the plume will reattach to the shoreline, and a recirculating flow region will form on the lee of the effluent. Temperature measurements are made in the plumes. The strong crossflow condition required for shore attachment is determined from the experimental investigation. Under the strong crossflow condition, the recirculating region remains attached to the shoreline, and the dilution of the plume is relatively independent of buoyancy effects.