Interacting density fronts in saturated brines cooled from above
Abstract
When a saturated brine layer is cooled from above, both a convective temperature front as well as a front of sedimenting salt crystals can form. We employ direct numerical simulations to investigate the evolution and interaction of these two density fronts. Depending on the ratio of the temperature front velocity and the crystal settling velocity, which is governed by a dimensionless parameter in the form of a Rayleigh number, we find that either two separate fronts exist for all times, two initially separate fronts combine into a single front after some time or a single front exists at all times. We furthermore propose approximate scaling laws for the propagation of the thermal and crystal fronts in each regime and compare them with the simulation data, with generally good agreement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 15, 2023
- Source ID
- 10.1017/jfm.2023.809
Entities
People
- Eckart Meiburg
- Nadav G. Lensky
- R. Ezraty
- S.m. Rubinstein
Organizations
- Army Research Office
- Israel Science Foundation
- National Science Foundation