Numerical modeling of lock-exchange gravity/turbidity currents by a high-order upwinding combined compact difference scheme

This study presents two-dimensional direct numerical simulations for sediment-laden current with higher density propagating forward through a lighter ambient water. The incompressible Navier Stokes equations including the buoyancy force for the density difference between the light and heavy fluids are solved by a finite difference scheme based on a structured mesh. The concentration transport equations are used to explore such rich transport phenomena as gravity and turbidity currents. Within the framework of an Upwinding Combined Compact finite Difference(UCCD) scheme, rigorous determination of weighting coefficients underlies the modified equation analysis and the minimization of the numerical modified wavenumber. This sixth-order UCCD scheme is implemented in a four-point grid stencil to approximate advection and diffusion terms in the concentration transport equations and the first-order derivative terms in the Navier-Stokes equations, which can greatly enhance convective stability and increase dispersive accuracy at the same time. The initial discontinuous concentration field is smoothed by solving a newly proposed Heaviside function to prevent numerical instabilities and unreasonable concentration values. A two-step projection method is then applied to obtain the velocity field. The numerical algorithm shows a satisfying ability to capture the generation, development, and dissipation of the Kelvin-Helmholz instabilities and turbulent billows at the interface between the current and the ambient fluid. The simulation results also are compared with the data in published literatures and good agreements are found to prove that the present numerical model can well reproduce the propagation,particle deposition, and mixing processes of lock-exchange gravity and turbidity currents.