Precipitation patterns driven by gravity current

A precipitation reaction can be driven by a gravity current that spreads on the bottom as a denser fluid is injected into an initially stagnant liquid. Supersaturation and nucleation are restricted to locations where the two liquids come into contact; hence, the flow pattern governs the spatial distribution of the final product. In this numerical study, we quantitatively characterize the flow associated with the gravity current prior to the onset of nucleation and distinguish three zones where the coupling of transport processes with the reaction can take place depending on their time scales. A scaling law associated with the region of Rayleigh-Taylor instability behind the tip of the gravity current is also determined.