Impact of Lateral Flow on Two Touching Turbulent Buoyant Plumes in Stratified Fluids

A 3D time-dependent computational fluid dynamics model was developed to simulate the propagation of two touching turbulent plumes impacted by a crossflow in stratified environment. The model numerically solves the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations and the energy equation. The parameter sensitivity is analyzed to evaluate the relative importance of the background buoyancy frequency and the intensity of the crossflow. The velocity and vorticity fields of two plumes in a crossflow are reproduced and used to investigate the hydrodynamic characteristics of the plumes. The turbulence structures of two plumes, including turbulent kinetic energy, turbulence dissipation rate, and turbulent viscosity, are analyzed to evaluate the contribution of turbulent mixing in different regions. The potential impacts of crossflows and plume interactions on plume entrainment and detrainment are discussed.