Simulation of buoyancy-induced turbulent flow from a hot horizontal jet

Experimental visualizations and numerical simulations of a horizontal hot water jet entering cold water into a rectangular storage tank are described. Three different temperature differences and their corresponding Reynolds numbers are considered. Both experimental visualization and numerical computations are carried out for the same flow and thermal conditions. The realizable k - ɛ model is used for modeling the turbulent flow while the buoyancy is modeled using the Boussinesq approximation. Polynomial approximations of the water properties are used to compare with the Boussinesq approximation. Numerical solutions are obtained for unsteady flow while pressure, velocity, temperature and turbulence distributions inside the water tank as well as the Froude number are analyzed. The experimental visualizations are performed at intervals of five seconds for all different cases. The simulated results are compared with the visualized results, and both of them show the stratification phenomena and buoyancy force effects due to temperature difference and density variation. After certain times, depending on the case condition, the flow tends to reach a steady state.