Experiment and Simulation of One Deep Sewage Discharge Type: Transport of Low‐Salinity Sediment‐Laden Flow Discharged

Abstract

Deep sewage discharge leads to inestimable damage to the ambient water (lakes, oceans and reservoirs), which has caused widespread social concern. In the current paper, a three‐dimensional (3D) buoyancy plume model for deep sewage discharge was developed. It simulates sediment‐laden flow with the effects of temperature and salinity differences. Taking the turbulent diffusion coefficient of salinity (αsal) as the calibration parameter, a comparison between the RNG k‐ε and the standard k‐ε models was performed. The proposed model was verified well and agreement with experiment, which proved that the RNG model with the αsal value of 0.4 was the optimal calibration. Then the model was applied to quantify the behavior of the buoyant plume in the ambient fluid (salt water) with respect to different contours of turbulent kinetic energy (k), temperature, salinity and sediment. The dimensionless centerline trajectory positions and boundary positions of them were determined. The results indicated that the discharge of low‐salinity sediment‐bearing water influenced the deep ambient water spatially, both near the free surface and in the vertical plane. Different diffusion and spreading shapes (butterfly, Ginkgo biloba, bean) can be observed on the surface. Accurately evaluating the impact of deep discharge on ambient water has great significance for maintaining healthy and sustainable environments in offshore areas, deep lakes and reservoirs.