Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

Spring 4-13-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

May 2026

Department

Ocean and Mechanical Engineering

College Granting Degree

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department Granting Degree

Ocean and Mechanical Engineering

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Siddhartha Verma

Abstract

Vortices that form over multiple drainage ports may exhibit a distinct, periodic alternating behavior, whereby the air core moves periodically between different drainage ports. The physical processes which govern this behavior have not yet been explained, despite the widespread and thorough attempts to describe the flow of water through single or multiple outlets. Early experiments on the alternating behavior of this vortex resulted in a nondimensional relation between the alternating frequency and water height and container geometry with an R2 = 0.91. Subsequent 2D PIV measurements of the flow were performed at different laser heights of 25 mm and 128 mm. The measured velocity field was shown to be inconsistent with predictions from a proposed potential flow model where sinks and vortices are placed over each outlet via superposition. Through truncation of the singular value decomposition of the velocity field, the alternating behavior is also shown to be a fundamental flow structure for potential use in reduced order modeling. Fast Fourier Transforms of the same velocity field measured through PIV were used in an attempt to measure the switching or alternating frequency of the vortex, although no distinct peak was observed in the spectral analysis, covering slightly more than one full switching period.

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