Author(s): Rawaa Shaheed; Abdolmajid Mohammadian; Hossein Kheirkhah Gildeh
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Secondary flow; Free surface model; Rigid-LID model; Standard k-ε; Realizable k-ε; LRR; LES
Abstract: Secondary currents are one of the important features that characterize the flow in open channel bends and confluences. The particles of the fluid in curved and confluent channels follow a spiral path instead of moving nearly parallel to the axis of the channel. In this paper, the influence of the secondary currents on the surface water elevation and potential hydraulic structures in the channel bends and confluences will be studied by employing a 3D OpenFOAM numerical model. The finite volume method (FVM) is used to simulate and examine the behavior of secondary current in channel bends and confluences. Two sets of experimental data, one with a sharply curved channel by Rozovskii, and the other with a confluent channel by Shumate were used to compare the numerical results with and to evaluate validity of the model. Various turbulence models (i.e. standard k-ε, realizable k-ε, LRR, and LES) are applied in the current model to evaluate the performance of different turbulence models in predicting the behavior of the secondary flow in channel bends and confluences. The accuracy of various turbulence models are evaluated and discussed.
Year: 2016