Ouzani, RiadhLahbari, MiloudKhelladi, SofianeNogueira, Xesús2026-07-202026-07-202025-12-18Riadh Ouzani, Miloud Lahbari, Sofiane Khelladi, Xesús Nogueira; Numerical study of salt fingers dynamics and mixing in laminar shear flow. Physics of Fluids 1 December 2025; 37 (12): 123613. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.03007051089-76661070-6631https://hdl.handle.net/2183/48900This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. The article 'Riadh Ouzani, Miloud Lahbari, Sofiane Khelladi, Xesús Nogueira; Numerical study of salt fingers dynamics and mixing in laminar shear flow' appeared in Physics of Fluids 18 December 2025; 37 (12): 123613 and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0300705. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.[Abstract]: In the present study, numerical simulations are employed to investigate the effect of laminar shear flow intensity on the salt fingers dynamics and associated mixing mechanism. A high-order finite volume method are used to solve the two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations, using a fifth-order weighted essentially non-oscillatory scheme for nonlinear convection, a fourth-order centered scheme for viscous terms, and a third-order total variation diminishing Runge–Kutta method to advance in time. Simulations were performed for laminar shear flow regimes with Reynolds numbers ranging from  Re = 0 to 700 at RaT = 7 x 10⁶, considering various buoyancy ratios. The results show that variations in laminar shear flow intensity lead to various salt-finger configurations, which in turn affect their morphology, evolution, and the efficiency of the associated transport processes. The interaction between fingers and shear induces asymmetric evolution and reduces the width of the fingers, which become increasingly tilted as the Reynolds number rises. As the buoyancy ratio increases, shear effects become more pronounced, producing thinner and more tilted salt fingers. It was also found that as the shear intensity increases, the buoyancy forces weaken relative to the hydrodynamic process, which inhibits the generation of vortices at the ascending and descending finger tips. Our findings also show that the increases in the Reynolds number significantly reduced the mass exchange in the vertical direction and improved horizontal transport. Meanwhile, heat transfer remains unaffected by variations in shear intensity. The mixing characteristics were also studied by analyzing the PDFs (probability density function of salinity). The PDFs reveals that convective mixing is reduced with increasing shear strength, while simultaneously enhancing diffusive mixing within the system. Moreover, higher buoyancy ratios intensify diffusive mixing, particularly in the presence of strong shear.eng© 2025 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing.Transport propertiesHeat transferFluid flowsFluid mixingjournal articleembargoed access10.1063/5.0300705