Role of salt sources in density-dependent flow

Flow equation expresses mass conservation for a fluid phase. In density-dependent problems, fluid consists of at least two components, termed salt and water here. Salt sources are usually properly accounted for when salt is dissolved in water (i.e., as a solute) but are neglected otherwise. An analy...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Hidalgo, Juan J., Carrera, Jesús, Medina, Agustín
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2009
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/346618
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/346618
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/67650314184
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Flow and transport
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Descripción
Sumario:Flow equation expresses mass conservation for a fluid phase. In density-dependent problems, fluid consists of at least two components, termed salt and water here. Salt sources are usually properly accounted for when salt is dissolved in water (i.e., as a solute) but are neglected otherwise. An analysis of the effect of neglecting pure salt sources on flow regime and concentration distribution is performed. Two test cases are used to illustrate the issue. The first one is the saltwater bucket problem, which consists of adding salt to an otherwise isolated domain. The second one is the Elder problem. Discrepancies in concentrations are moderate for reasonably small salt mass fractions. However, currently available codes yield head drops in response to the addition of salt because fluid mass is kept constant while its density increases. Such results contradict basic physical principles and lead to an inversion in the flow direction. Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.