Investigation of Dilution, Frequency, and Intensity of Turbulent Flow in Submerged Disposal of Brine

In recent decades, brine discharge into the water bodies and desalination plants have increased dramatically all over the world. In this research, behavior of turbulent flow in submerged disposal of saline wastewater produced by coastal desalination with a nozzle oriented upwards at 45o to the horizontal was investigated by employing a three-dimensional laser-induced fluorescent (3DLIF) system. After obtaining experimental pictures and converting them to ASCI files, change of turbulent flow in jet-to-plume transition was analyzed through cross-sectional profiles of concentration, turbulent intensity and flow intermittency in different distances from the discharge nozzle with code development in MATLAB software. The results show that in this regime transition, agreement with Gaussian distribution in mean concentration profiles decreases for the inner side of discharged flow in the plume region, Concentration intensity increases and zero-intermittency zone decreases. Also, changes in slope of mean concentration, concentration fluctuation intensity and intermittency along the centerline increase dramatically.