摘要:
This work studies the nearshore hydrodynamics of a shallow turbulent flow entering a laterally unconfined quiescent ambient with a sloping bottom boundary. Examples of such flow are neutrally buoyant ebb tidal jets and hyperpycnal river plumes entering open *** experiments were applied in a shallow open channel connected to a sloping bottom tank. A three-dimensional (3D) CFD model based on large eddy simulation is established and validated using the experimental data. The validated model not only provides detailed 3D flow field information but also extends the experimentally studied range of initial and boundary conditions. With neutral buoyancy, turbulent inflow is classified as a tidal jet, whose transverse velocity profile gradually transforms from a top-hat profile into a Gaussian distribution. Bounded by a sloping boundary, the jet extends vertically, resulting in an abrupt decrease in centerline velocity near the channel mouth. Under the combined effects of the vertical extension and lateral entrainment, the jet undergoes lateral contraction before spreading laterally. Shear layers are generated at both sides of the jet, converging towards the centerline with increasing offshore distance. The momentum thickness of the shear layers increases longitudinally until the shear layers from both sides meet and merge at the centerline. Kelvin Helmholtz-type coherent structures (KHCS) develop inside the shear layers, contributing remarkably to turbulent kinetic energy production and momentum transfer (70%-80%). The KHCS enlarge with the growth of the shear layers and extend vertically as the jet spreads in the vertical direction. Nevertheless, the Strouhal number of KHCS remains almost constant (~0.079). After the shear layers from both sides meet at the centerline, the jet undergoes a "flag-like" flapping *** negative buoyancy, the turbulent inflow is classified as a hyperpycnal plume. Examples are cool and sediment-laden river flowing into open w