ABSTRACT
Three-dimensional Large Eddy Simulations and laboratory experiments of lock exchange gravity currents propagating on up-sloping boundaries are presented. Different sloping angles were tested, while all the other parameters were fixed. The LES reproduce the same domain as the laboratory experiments by a very high resolution computational grid. A very good agreement is found between the numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. The gravity current, moving on a horizontal boundary, mixes with the ambient fluid and shows its classical features: a head region followed by a tail region. When a gravity current propagates on an up-sloping boundary, a reverse flow, close to the bed in the gate region, occurs. The reverse flow produces an accumulation region in the left part of the tank. The intensity of the reverse flow and the thickness of the head of the gravity current are found to be dependent on the sloping angle.
