Numerical study of free surface flow around large obstacles

In this thesis a numerical model was developed to study three-dimensional turbulent flows around large obstacles in an open channel. With this numerical model, a series of numerical tests was carried out, and the properties of turbulent flows around a single obstacle or a cluster of obstacles were investigated. The origin of this study was to study the flow properties around fish habitat structures. Actually, the numerical model can be applied to the study of general turbulent flows under free surfaces.; In the numerical model the three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations in conjunction with k-ϵ turbulence model were solved in a free surface fitted coordinate system. First, different forms of governing equations for turbulent flow were investigated, and a concise form of fully transformed governing equations in a general curvilinear coordinate system was derived. In the numerical solution the FAVOR (Fractional Area/Volume Obstacle Representation) technique was extended into the free surface fitted coordinate system. With this feature the problem of complex turbulent flow with a free surface and general shaped obstacles could be solved efficiently. To locate the free surface, a method based on integrating the momentum equation in the vertical direction was developed. After study and tests of several popular difference schemes, a QUICK scheme with UMIST limiter was adopted in this numerical model. Several test cases were presented to demonstrate the present numerical model.; The first test case was to simulate a submerged hydraulic jump. The calculated velocity, free surface profile and turbulence properties of the flow showed a close match with the experimental data. The second test was a submerged hydraulic jump with a baffle sill. The comparison between numerical and experimental data indicated that the current numerical model could catch the general flow structures of the submerged hydraulic jumps. The last two test cases were flows around a single hemisphere or multi-hemispheres attached to a channel bed. The hemispheres were used to represent simple fish habitat structures. The test results proved the reliability of this numerical model to solve complex turbulent flows under free surface.; Using systematic numerical tests with this model the relationship between water depth and the obstacle height, the interaction between obstacles, and the wake area behind different obstacle configurations were investigated. The results of the study provided useful information for the design of fish habitat structures.