Anders G. Andersson

CFD-Modelling and Validation of Free Surface Flow During Spilling of Reservoir in Down-Scale Model

Abstract Fully three dimensional modelling of the spilling from a reservoir with relatively complex geometry were performed and compared to experimental results from a physical scale model with the aim to advance the science of numerical modelling of free surface flow of real reservoirs. In the set-up in focus the water was spilled from the reservoir through three gates that could be manoeuvred separately. In the first case two of the gates were closed and the third gate was partly opened. In this experimental set-up the water surface in the reservoir was close to horizontal. Therefore it was here meaningful to compare a rigid lid modelling approximation to the more computational heavy method of Volume of Fluids. In the second case, all three gates were open, resulting in a nonhorizontal varied flow surface profile in the reservoir upstream critical sections at the spillway crests. This case was simulated with Volume of Fluids and the position of the air-water interface was derived for two turbulence models, the standard k-ε and SSG. Water levels, velocities and the shape of the water surface were compared to experiments. The simulation results capture qualitative features such as a vortex near the outlet and show good quantitative agreement with the experiments regardless of method used to simulate the free surface. In general, simulations with the standard k-ε and the more advanced SSG turbulence models give the same results with respect to the averaged quantities measured.

A study of the location of the entrance of a fishway in a regulated river with CFD and ADCP

Simulation-driven design with computational fluid dynamics has been used to evaluate the flow downstream of a hydropower plant with regards to upstream migrating fish. Fieldmeasurements with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler were performed, and the measurements were used to validate the simulations. The measurements indicate a more unstable flow than the simulations, and the tailrace jet from the turbines is stronger in the simulations. A fishway entrance was included in the simulations, and the subsequent attraction water was evaluated for two positions and two angles of the entrance at different turbine discharges. Results show that both positions are viable and that a position where the flow from the fishway does not have to compete with the flow from the power plant will generate superior attraction water. Simulations were also performed for further downstream where the flow from the turbines meets the old river bed which is the current fish passage for upstream migrating fish. A modification of the old river bed was made in the model as one scenario to generate better attraction water. This considerably increases the attraction water although it cannot compete with the flow from the tailrace tunnel.

Flow through a two-scale porosity material

Flow through a two-scale porous medium is here investigated by a unique comparison between simulations performed with computational fluid dynamics and the boundary element method with microparticle image velocimetry in model geometries.

Effect of spatial resolution of rough surfaces on numerically computed flow fields with application to hydraulic engineering

Abstract In numerical simulations of flow over rough surfaces, the roughness is often not resolved but represented by a numerical model. The validity of such an assumption is investigated in this paper by Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations of flow over a surface with a large roughness. The surface was created from a high-resolution laser scanning of a real rock blasted tunnel. By reducing the geometrical resolution of the roughness in two steps, the importance of an appropriate surface description could be examined. The flow fields obtained were compared to a set-up with a geometrical flat surface where the roughness was represented by a modified form of the Launder and Spalding wall-function. The flow field over the surface with the lowest resolution was substantially different from those of the two finer resolutions and rather close to the results from the set-up with the wall-function. The results also yield that the finer the resolution is the more vorticity is formed close to the rough surface and more turbulence is generated.

Modelling the Evaporation Rate in an Impingement Jet Dryer with Multiple Nozzles

Impinging jets are often used in industry to dry, cool, or heat items. In this work, a two-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics model is created to model an impingement jet dryer with a total of 9 pairs of nozzles that dries sheets of metal. Different methods to model the evaporation rate are studied, as well as the influence of recirculating the outlet air. For the studied conditions, the simulations show that the difference in evaporation rate between single- and two-component treatment of moist air is only around 5%, hence indicating that drying can be predicted with a simplified model where vapor is included as a nonreacting scalar. Furthermore, the humidity of the inlet air, as determined from the degree of recirculating outlet air, has a strong effect on the water evaporation rate. Results show that the metal sheet is dry at the exit if 85% of the air is recirculated, while approximately only 60% of the water has evaporated at a recirculation of 92,5%.

Experimental study of the flow past submerged half-cylinders

This investigation studies the details of the flow behind and over two identical semicircular cylinders positioned in tandem. Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) measurements are carried out in a laboratory water flume using two different gap ratios (Sp/d = 1 and Sp/d = 0.5; where Sp indicates distance between the cylinders and d indicates cylinder diameter) under two different flow situations. These LDV measurement are used to derive velocities, formation length and Power spectral density for the various flow conditions. Flow visualizations are also added in this investigation. The results indicate that the flow is significantly affected due to gap ratios.