Evaluation of three-dimensional numerical model for saline intrusion and purging in sewage outfalls

Saline intrusion into sewage outfalls will greatly decrease the efficiency of the structures. The numerical model for this flow has been limited to one- and two-dimensional ones. In this article, a three-dimensional numerical model for saline intrusion and purging in sewage outfalls was developed. The flow was modeled in three dimensions under turbulent conditions with the RNG k - ɛ turbulence model. The numerical results provided quantitative evidence of the fundamental flow mechanisms that took place during saline intrusion and purging. The comparisons of the results with that of two-dimensional model and that of experiments indicate that the three-dimensional numerical model developed in this article is more effective in predicting the internal flow in outfalls.