THREE DIMENSIONAL CFD MODELLING OF FLOW STRUCTURE IN COMPOUND CHANNELS

Abstract

The computational modeling of three dimensional flows in a meandering compound channel has been performed in this research work. The flow calculations are performed by solving 3D steady state continuity and Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The turbulence closure is approximated with standard - turbulence model. The model equations are solved numerically with a general purpose software package. A comprehensive validation of the simulated results against the experimental data and a demonstration that the software used in this study has matured enough for investigating practical engineering problems are the major contributions of this paper. The model was initially validated. This was achieved by computing streamwise point velocities at different depths of various sections and depth averaged velocities at three cross sections along the main channel and comparing these results with experimental data. After the validation of the model, predictions were made for different flow parameters including velocity contours at the surface, pressure distribution, turbulence intensity etc. The results gave an overall understanding of these flow variables in meandering channels. The simulation also established the good prediction capability of the standard - turbulence model for flows in compound channels.

Keywords

• Compound channels
• Point velocities
• Numerical simulation
• Turbulence intensity.