Flow structure in a mixing layer developing over flat bed at high Reynolds numbers

Abstract

Results of a high resolution Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) are used to characterize the evolution of a shallow mixing layer developing between two parallel streams in a long open channel with a flat bed at a high Reynolds number (ReD = 160,000). The influence of Reynolds number on the development of the mixing layer as well as the vertical non-uniformity in the mixing layer structure is discussed. The numerical results show that as Reynolds number increases, the mixing layer grows rapidly but also stabilizes more quickly. The shift of the centerline of the mixing layer is toward the low-speed side is less for high Reynolds number simulation than low Reynolds number simulation. Mixing layer growth rate and its change in the vertical direction are compared with experiments and a simulation at ReD = 16,000. Passive scalar is introduced at the tip of the splitter plate close to the free surface to estimate the size of the mixing structures based on mass transport. © 2016 Taylor & Francis Group, London, UK.