Title:
Numerical Modeling of Two-Phase Flow in the Sodium Chloride-Water System with Applications to Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems

dc.contributor.advisor Lowell, Robert P.
dc.contributor.author Lewis, Kayla Christine en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMember Bruce Buffet
dc.contributor.committeeMember Leonid Germanovich
dc.contributor.committeeMember Taillefert, Martial
dc.contributor.committeeMember Andrew Newman
dc.contributor.department Earth and Atmospheric Sciences en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2008-02-07T18:39:40Z
dc.date.available 2008-02-07T18:39:40Z
dc.date.issued 2007-11-12 en_US
dc.description.abstract In order to explain the observed time-dependent salinity variations in seafloor hydrothermal vent fluids, quasi-numerical and fully numerical fluid flow models of the NaCl-H2O system are constructed. For the quasi-numerical model, a simplified treatment of phase separation of seawater near an igneous dike is employed to obtain rough estimates of the thickness and duration of the two-phase zone, the amount of brine formed, and its distribution in the subsurface. For the fully numerical model, the equations governing fluid flow, the thermodynamic relations between various quantities employed, and the coupling of these elements together in a time marching scheme is discussed. The fully numerical model is benchmarked against previously published heat pipe and Elder problem simulation results, and is shown to be largely in agreement with those results. A number of simulation results are presented in the context of two-phase flow and phase separation within the framework of the single pass model. It is found that a quasi-stable two-phase (liquid + vapor) zone at depth below the hydrothermal discharge outlet gives rise to vent fluid with lower than normal seawater salinity. Additionally, it is shown that increasing the spatial extent of the two-phase zone can lower vent fluid salinity. The numerical approach used in this thesis is able to generate salinity patterns predicted by a widely held conceptual model of vent fluid salinity variation, and may be able to explain the vent fluid salinities and temperatures found at the Main Endeavour Vent Field on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, as this approach is able to produce simulated vent fluid salinities that match observed values from the Endeavour Field vents Dante and Hulk. en_US
dc.description.degree Ph.D. en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1853/19810
dc.publisher Georgia Institute of Technology en_US
dc.subject Numerical fluid flow en_US
dc.subject Black smoker en_US
dc.subject Hydrothermal en_US
dc.subject Two-phase flow en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Convection (Oceanography)
dc.subject.lcsh Ocean bottom temperature
dc.subject.lcsh Hydrothermal circulation (Oceanography)
dc.subject.lcsh Fluid dynamics
dc.subject.lcsh Thermodynamics
dc.title Numerical Modeling of Two-Phase Flow in the Sodium Chloride-Water System with Applications to Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems en_US
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre Dissertation
dspace.entity.type Publication
local.contributor.corporatename School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
local.contributor.corporatename College of Sciences
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication b3e45057-a6e8-4c24-aaaa-fb00c911603e
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 85042be6-2d68-4e07-b384-e1f908fae48a
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