Author(s): Jialin Zhao; Bruce Melville; Colin Whittaker
Linked Author(s): Bruce W. Melville, Colin Whittaker
Keywords: Rtificial reef Menger-type cube structural complexity vortical flow structures
Abstract: Multiscale vortical structures are significant for benthic creatures when choosing their habitats. This study compared the flow field around five Menger-type cubic artificial reefs (ARs). The experiments were conducted in a hydraulic flume at a constant water depth of 0.2 m and a depth-averaged flow velocity of 0.1 m/s. To study the three-dimensional flow characteristics around the ARs, a two-dimensional particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) system was used to capture the velocity field across three vertical and three horizontal sectional planes. For illustrative purposes, only the central vertical plane was selected as a typical plane to highlight flow features in the longitudinal and vertical dimensions. A dimensionless surface area to volume ratio (DSVR) is used to quantify the structural complexity of the artificial reefs (ARs). A higher value of DSVR represents a more complex structure. The results indicate that there are clear relationships between the DSVR and the flow characteristics. The mean horizontal position of the horseshoe vortex decreases with an increasing DSVR, while the mean vertical position changes slightly. In the near wake, the length of the main recirculation zone initially decreases as the DSVR increases from the solid model without cavities to the model with only a central cavity, but then increases with further increases in DSVR. The flow characteristics above and inside the ARs were also investigated in this study.
Year: 2025