Parametrical study of the back flow occurrence in case of a buoyant release into a rectangular channel

Experiments are carried out on a laboratory model in order to evaluate the critical velocity required to prevent the back flow occurrence when a buoyant fluid is continuously released into a rectangular channel. A parametrical approach is used and the critical velocity is evaluated for different channel dimensions and for different buoyant source characteristics. A review of theoretical and semi-empirical models available in literature for critical conditions is also proposed and a comparison between experiments and models is made when possible.