Numerical Modeling of Venturi Flume

Abstract

In order to measure flow rate in open channels, including irrigation channels, hydraulic structures are used with a relatively high degree of reliance. Venturi flumes are among the most common and efficient type, and they can measure discharge using only the water level at a specific point within the converging section and an empirical discharge relationship. There have been a limited number of attempts to simulate a venturi flume using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools to improve the accuracy of the readings and empirical formula. In this study, simulations on different flumes were carried out using a total of seven different models, including the standard k–ε, RNG k–ε, realizable k–ε, k–ω, and k–ω SST models. Furthermore, large-eddy simulation (LES) and detached eddy simulation (DES) were performed. Comparison of the simulated results with physical test data shows that among the turbulence models, the k–ε model provides the most accurate results, followed by the dynamic k LES model when compared to the physical experimental data. The overall margin of error was around 2–3%, meaning that the simulation model can be reliably used to estimate the discharge in the channel. In different cross-sections within the flume, the k–ε model provides the lowest percentage of error, i.e., 1.93%. This shows that the water surface data are well calculated by the model, as the water surface profiles also follow the same vertical curvilinear path as the experimental data.

Keywords

• venturi flume
• CFD
• OpenFOAM
• RANS
• turbulence model
• numerical simulation