Saltwater entrainment from bathymetric depressions: A CFD analysis from a laboratory cavity to a scour hole in the Haringvliet estuary

Ashraf A. Almohagry*, Tom O'Mahoney, Fateme Ebrahimierami, Vasileios Kitsikoudis, Suzanne J.M.H. Hulscher

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstractAcademic

Abstract

Saltwater intrusion is a significant challenge in semi-enclosed estuaries, such as the Haringvliet. The Haringvliet is a large inlet of the North Sea that was closed in 1970 as part of the Delta Works in the Netherlands (Kranenburg et al., 2023). Saltwater intrusion leads to the formation of saline pools in scour holes within the estuary. Mitigating saltwater intrusion involves the determination of the freshwater discharge during ebb tide that is needed to flush out the saltwater that has entered the system during flood tide. In the Haringvliet, the biggest challenge is to determine the minimum discharge that is needed to effectively flush out the saltwater from the scour holes. The urgency for precise freshwater management strategies has increased because of the anticipated freshwater scarcity due to climate change. Despite existing studies on flushing saltwater from cavities, there is a knowledge gap in quantifying the saltwater entrainment rate from real-life scour holes. This study addresses this knowledge gap by studying the saltwater entrainment rate from a real-life scour hole using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models validated against both lab-scale and field-scale flows.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages1
Publication statusPublished - 14 Mar 2024
EventNCK Days 2024 - Oude Magazijn, Amersfoort, Netherlands
Duration: 13 Mar 202415 Mar 2024

Conference

ConferenceNCK Days 2024
Country/TerritoryNetherlands
CityAmersfoort
Period13/03/2415/03/24

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