Thermal-induced buoyant water jet discharge under shallow coastal water conditions

A novel discharge dispersion model is developed to simulate the complex three-dimensional flow behaviour of thermal-induced buoyant water jets under current-wave coexisting conditions. The model solved the governing fluid flow and energy equations for two immiscible and incompressible phases (water and air) which were weakly coupled by applying the Boberbeck-Boussinesq approximation. Different turbulence models, such as k−ε multiphase, k-ω SST, k-ω SST-multiphase, k-ω SST-stable, and realizable k−ε were applied. Extensive verification of the model's performance is conducted by comparing the developed model results against a diverse range of analytical and experimental data. First, a series of simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance of the model in reproducing the results of the wave hydrodynamic and interactions with the submerged trapezoid bar. This is followed by numerically replicating the experimental results of a vertical non-buoyant submerged jet under current-only and current-wave environments. Finally, the potency of the coupled hydro-thermal algorithm is assessed by validating against different thermal-induced buoyant submerged jet experimental tests. For this purpose, numerical prediction of the developed model is tested against physical experiments for a series of tests for thermal-induced buoyant submerged horizontal jets in stationary water and inclined thermal-induced buoyant water jet under the influence of current-wave environments. Results showed that the k-ω SST-multiphase provides the best agreement with the laboratory measured data in terms of flow, temperature distribution field, plume trajectory and dilution. The findings confirmed that the developed model can be used as a reliable tool in precisely modelling characteristic of thermal-induced buoyant water jet in shallow coastal waters.