Entrainment in diffusive thermohaline systems. Application to salt gradient solar ponds
This report describes the development of a numerical model for simulating the temporal evolution of vertical temperature and salinity profiles in a salt-gradient solar pond. The model uses a mixed-layer approach, and a general entrainment relation is derived for predicting the growth of the upper mixed layer. One major effort involved studying the process of mixed-layer deepening in a strongly stratified ''diffusive'' double-diffusive system. In the first of two experiments, a vertically oscillating grid drove interfacial mixing in a two-layer system in which the temperature and salinity differences between the layers were varied. The second experiment addressed wind-induced mixing in a laboratory wind/wave tank. Tests involved several different mean wind speeds and considered two-layer systems with salt or diffusive double-diffusive stratification. No differences could be seen in the results for the two different kinds of stratification. Additional experiments in the wind/wave tank tested the effect of placing floating plastic pipes or netting on the water surface. Results showed that both pipes and netting can effectively reduce wind mixing. Experimental data and data from previous research define suggested values for the coefficients in the entrainment model, which is incorporated into the full numerical simulation model.
- Research Organization:
- Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge (USA). Ralph M. Parsons Lab. for Water Resources and Hydrodynamics
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-83CH10093
- OSTI ID:
- 5451648
- Report Number(s):
- SERI/STR-252-2722; ON: DE85012161
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
User's manual for Massachusetts Institute of Technology Solar Thermal Pond Program (MITSOL)
Experimental and theoretical study of salt-gradient pond interface behavior