Sam T. Fredriksson

An evaluation of gas transfer velocity parameterizations during natural convection using DNS

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of free surface flows driven by natural convection are used to evaluate different methods of estimating air-water gas exchange at no-wind conditions. These methods estimate the transfer velocity as a function of either the horizontal flow divergence at the surface, the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation beneath the surface, the heat flux through the surface, or the wind speed above the surface. The gas transfer is modeled via a passive scalar. The Schmidt number dependence is studied for Schmidt numbers of 7, 150 and 600. The methods using divergence, dissipation and heat flux estimate the transfer velocity well for a range of varying surface heat flux values, and domain depths. The two evaluated empirical methods using wind (in the limit of no wind) give reasonable estimates of the transfer velocity, depending however on the surface heat flux and surfactant saturation. The transfer velocity is shown to be well represented by the expression, k(s) = A (Bv)(1/4) Sc2(n), where A is a constant, B is the buoyancy flux, m is the kinematic viscosity, Sc is the Schmidt number, and the exponent n depends on the water surface characteristics. The results suggest that A = 0.39 and n approximate to 1/2 and n approximate to 2/3 for slip and no-slip boundary conditions at the surface, respectively. It is further shown that slip and no-slip boundary conditions predict the heat transfer velocity corresponding to the limits of clean and highly surfactant contaminated surfaces, respectively.

Surface shear stress dependence of gas transfer velocity parameterizations using DNS

Air-water gas-exchange is studied in direct numerical simulations (DNS) of free-surface flows driven by natural convection and weak winds. The wind is modeled as a constant surface-shear-stress and the gas-transfer is modeled via a passive scalar. The simulations are characterized via a Richardson number Ri=Bν/u*4 where B, ν, and u* are the buoyancy flux, kinematic viscosity, and friction velocity respectively. The simulations comprise 0 Ric or kg=Ashearu*Sc-n, Ri<Ric. Here ABuoy=0.4 and AShear=0.1 are constants, and n is an exponent that depends on the water surface-characteristics.

Large eddy simulation of the tidal power plant Deep Green using the actuator line method

Tidal energy has the potential to provide a substantial part of the sustainable electric power generation. The tidal power plant developed by Minesto, called Deep Green, is a novel technology using a ‘flying’ kite with an attached turbine, moving at a speed several times higher than the mean flow. Multiple Deep Green power plants will eventually form arrays, which requires knowledge of both flow interactions between individual devices and how the array influences the surrounding environment. The present study uses large eddy simulations (LES) and an actuator line model (ALM) to analyze the oscillating turbulent boundary layer flow in tidal currents without and with a Deep Green power plant. We present the modeling technique and preliminary results so far.

Near-surface physics during convection affecting air-water gas transfer

The gas flux at the water surface is affected by physical processes including turbulence from wind shear, microscale wave breaking, large-scale breaking, and convection due to heat loss at the surface. The main route in the parameterizations of the gas flux has been to use the wind speed as a proxy for the gas flux velocity, indirectly taking into account the dependency of the wind shear and the wave processes. The interest in the contributions from convection processes has increased as the gas flux from inland waters (with typically lower wind and sheltered conditions) now is believed to play a substantial role in the air-water gas flux budget. The gas flux is enhanced by convection through the mixing of the mixed layer as well as by decreasing the diffusive boundary layer thickness. The direct numerical simulations performed in this study are shown to be a valuable tool to enhance the understanding of this flow configuration often present in nature.