Computation of Two-dimensional Gravity Current

Computational results of a two-dimensional gravity current in a lock-exchange flow is presented in which a finite volume of homogeneous fluid was released instantaneously into another fluid of slightly lower density when a lock gate was opened. The computations were performed in a two-dimensional lower channel by solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation for an inhomogeneous fluid, the continuity equation and the transport equation for solute by the finite volume method. The results indicated that at low Reynolds numbers the subsequent mixing occurs in the early stage of the evolution of the gravity current in a lock-exchange flow.