Stratified Flow in Great Salt Lake Culvert

A causeway has effectively divided the Great Salt Lake in Utah into two lakes having different water-surface elevations and different densities. Exchange between the two lakes is by seepage through the causeway and by flow through two culverts. There are three possible flow regimes in the culverts: (1)Single layer; (2)arrested wedge; and (3)two-layer stratified flow. An analytical-numerical model is presented to predict which of the regimes will exist under given conditions and to predict the discharges. Stratified flow analyses have normally assumed a horizontal water surface and small density differences. These assumptions are removed. An expanded definition of the densimetric critical conditions is given for large density differences. The model gives acceptable agreement with the 49 sets of field measurements of the culvert discharges.