Author(s): M. Koken; G. Constantinescu
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) is used to investigate the horseshoe vortex system forming around the base of a bridge abutment with sloped walls. The horseshoe vortex system is the main vortical system responsible for local scour around the abutment past the initial stages of the scour process. DES is conducted for the conditions present in a large-scale laboratory experiment. The bathymetry corresponds to equilibrium scour conditions, the channel Reynolds number is240,000, and the incoming flow is fully turbulent and contains resolved turbulence fluctuations. The numerical results are used to visualize and quantitatively characterize the horseshoe vortex system as it wraps around the base of the abutment. Numerical results show that, similar for abutments of simplified geometry (vertical wall obstructions), the turbulence intensity is strongly amplified within the horseshoe vortex region with respect to the background levels corresponding to the incoming fully developed turbulent channel flow.
Year: 2009