An experimental study on prevention of saline wedge intrusion by an air curtain in rivers

Abstract

Prevention of saline wedge intrusion by an air curtain in rivers was experimentally studied from a physical viewpoint. The behavior of steady saline wedges around an air curtain was classified into the three types and their appearance conditions were clearly expressed by the two parameters A/B and A/R: A, B, and R represent the buoyancy due to an air curtain, the intrusion force of a saline wedge, and the inertial force of a fresh water flow (a river flow), respectively. In addition, the effectiveness of this method was evaluated using the newly introduced parameter a defined by (A/B)/(A/R).