A numerical model of the dispersion of a dense effluent in a stream

Abstract

Considered here is the dispersion of a dense effluent, such as discharged by a desalting plant, in a steady stream of uniform velocity and density. Of concern are the fields of velocity and density existing downstream from a discharge port. A numerical model of dense effluent dispersion in a rectangular channel with impermeable and frictionless walls is formulated. This model employs finite-difference forms of the Navier-Stokes equations for the steady flow of an incompressible fluid in the absence of streamwise diffusion, treats heat as well as salinity as conservative constituents of the fluid, and employs a linear equation of state. The numerical results appear reasonable and satisfy certain conservation requirements; in addition, for cases in which the effluent is only slightly denser than the ambient stream, the results agree closely with approximate analytical solutions for these cases.