Numerical study of two-dimensional salt-finger convection

In the present work, double-diffusive convection in the form of the salt finger is numerically investigated. A computational code based on the finite volume method with high-order accuracy and high resolution in space and time was employed to solve two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations at moderate thermal Rayleigh number Ra-T = 7. x 10(6). Two cases of the buoyancy ratio are considered R-q = 1.5 and R-q = 6. In this framework, we provide a details description of the spatio-temporel salt-finger mechanisms through numerical experiments. Results from these simulations show that the variation of the buoyancy ratio strongly affects the salt-finger forms and their dynamics. It is found that the generation of new fingers took place for weak buoyancy ratio. The bulbous structures transport heat and salinity when the buoyancy ratio is weak, whereas they transport only salinity for the higher buoyancy ratio. Our results also show that the intensity of the convection in the mixed layers is stronger at the starting and then it begins to decrease over time and allows the penetration of the fingers again. (c) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Renewable Energy and Applications.