Author(s): Maria Rita Maggi; Giovanni Di Lollo; Claudia Adduce
Linked Author(s): Maria Rita Maggi, Claudia Adduce
Keywords: Gravity currents; Laboratory experiments; Image analysis technique; Density fields
Abstract: Gravity currents, driven by buoyancy forces arising from density differences due to salinity, temperature, or suspended particles, play a key role in atmospheric, oceanic, and coastal circulations (Simpson, 1997). They are also of significant engineering interest, particularly in industrial safety and environmental protection (De Falco et al., 2021). A critical aspect of gravity currents is their interaction with complex terrains, such as rough or mobile sediment beds, which significantly affect their dynamics and behavior (Maggi et al., 2024). Recent studies have explored their behavior over complex topographies (Maggi et al., 2022), with particular attention to transient processes during initial obstacle encounters, often resulting in peak forces and moments on structures. Despite increasing research, experimental investigations into the mixing processes of gravity currents remain limited. This study experimentally examines bottom-propagating gravity currents interacting with submerged cylindrical obstacles. Using an innovative image analysis technique (Adduce et al., 2022), we evaluate instantaneous density fields to investigate the effects of the gap spacing ratio, defined as the ratio of obstacle spacing to height, on the current dynamics.
Year: 2025