Inclined negatively buoyant jets are commonly used to dispose brine effluent produced by desalination plants. Desalination and associated research has expanded in recent years due to the continued depletion and degradation of natural potable water sources. Desalination plants are the preferred option for meeting water demand deficits in many countries around the world. Inclined negatively buoyant jets are produced when the brine is discharged at an upward inclined angle via an offshore pipeline and diffuser system. Previous experimental studies have focused on the rapid mixing and dilution achieved by these discharges, as well as geometric parameters. Dilution measurements between these experimental studies vary significantly, which is possibly due to variations in the location of a lower boundary on observed flow behaviour. In the present study, velocity field information is experimentally measured for inclined negatively buoyant jets and compared to integral model predictions. Experiments are conducted with and without a lower boundary influencing observed flow behaviour, thus allowing the effects of a lower boundary to be determined.
The particle tracking velocimetry experimental technique is employed to measure near field velocities of these discharges. Firstly, discharges with source angles between 15\degree and 75\degree are investigated without boundary influence in stationary ambient conditions. The source was a minimum of 655 mm above the bottom of the experimental tank to ensure there was no lower boundary influence on observed behaviour. Time-averaged and fluctuating data are extracted along the trajectory of discharges. All non-dimensionalised geometric and centreline velocity parameters are found to collapse. Empirical coefficients are compared to previous experimental studies and integral model predictions.
A new detrainment model is developed to predict the behaviour of inclined negatively buoyant jets without boundary influence. The model further develops recent attempts to allow for buoyancy flux reduction along the flow path. The reduction in buoyancy flux is dependent on the local parameters of the flow and simulates experimentally observed detrainment. Dilution, geometric, and velocity predictions are found to be improved over previous models when compared to experimental data.
Finally, a raised platform was placed inside the experimental tank to determine the influence of a lower boundary on inclined negatively buoyant jets. Source angles of 30\degree, 45\degree, and 60\degree are investigated at three different non-dimensional source heights. The lower boundary is horizontal and ambient conditions are again stationary. Discharges impinge the lower boundary before forming a radially spreading layer along the boundary. Geometric and velocity data are compared to the first set of experiments in this study to determine the influence of the lower boundary on observed flow behaviour. Empirical coefficients at maximum height are similar with and without the influence of the boundary, whereas coefficients are substantially influenced at the return point when the boundary is present.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:canterbury.ac.nz/oai:ir.canterbury.ac.nz:10092/7895 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Crowe, Adam |
| Publisher | University of Canterbury. Civil and Natural Resources Engineering |
| Source Sets | University of Canterbury |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic thesis or dissertation, Text |
| Rights | Copyright Adam Crowe, http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/thesis/etheses_copyright.shtml |
| Relation | NZCU |
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