Numerical simulation of time-dependent hydrodynamic removal of a contaminated fluid from a cavity

The time-dependent hydrodynamic removal of a contaminated fluid from a rectangular cavity on the floor of a duct is analysed numerically. Laminar duct flows are considered for Reynolds numbers of 50 and 1600 where the characteristic length is the duct height. Two cases are considered where: (1) the fluid density in the cavity is the same as that for the duct fluid and (2) the cavity fluid has a higher density than the duct fluid but the two fluids are miscible. The flow is solved by a numerical solution of the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations. Attention is focused on the convective transport of contaminated fluid out from the cavity and the effect of duct flow velocity profile on the cleaning process. Passive markers are used in the numerical simulation for the purpose of identifying the contaminated cavity fluid. The results show that the flow patterns in the cavity are influenced by the type of duct flow. From a cleaning perspective, the results suggest that it is easier for the duct flow to penetrate a cavity and to remove contaminated cavity fluid when the duct flow is of the Poiseuille type and the aspect ratio is large.