The paper reports some results on the application of a k-ε model of turbulent buoyant flow to the calculation of turbulent mixing layers subjected to strong stable stratification. The eddy viscosity and diffusivity coefficients are computed from the two-equation k-ε turbulence model. The effect of buoyancy on the turbulence can be accounted for in the model at two levels. The first level is to include the buoyancy terms in governing equations. The second level is to account the buoyancy influence by the Munk-Ander-son formula which leads effectively to non-isotropic eddy viscosities and diffusivities as the functions of the local Richardson number. The directional effect of buoyancy is automatically involved. The model is can be used to correctly predict recirculating flows and complex three-dimensional flows in coastal waters. The present work continues the verification process by examining the model’s performance in strong stratification.
