Exchange Processes between a River and Its Groyne Fields: Model Experiments

The exchange of dissolved matter between a groyne field and a main stream influences the transport and distribution of a pollutant cloud in a river. In forecasting models, groyne fields are represented as dead zones with effective properties like exchange coefficients and exchanging volume. Despite its relevance for such practical applications, little research has been done on the exchange process between a groyne field and the main stream itself. Therefore, this study is aimed at examining this exchange process and validating the dead-zone prediction model, which treats the exchange process as a first order system. A schematized physical model of a river with groynes was built in a laboratory flume. The exchange process was visualized quantitatively with dye in adjacent groyne fields. In order to couple the exchange process to the velocity field, particle tracking velocimetry measurements were performed. Two different types of exchange were observed. First, exchange takes place via the mixing layer that is formed at the river-groyne-field interface. The large eddies formed in the mixing layer are the major cause of this exchange. Second, under certain conditions, even larger eddies are shed from the upstream groyne tip. Distortions in the flow field caused by such intermittent structures cause a much larger exchange than that by the mixing layer alone. The occurrence of large shed eddies depends on the presence of a sufficiently large, stationary, secondary gyre located at the upstream corner of the groyne field. The overall exchange of matter could be characterized as a first-order process, in accordance with the dead-zone-theory. The corresponding exchange coefficients agreed reasonably well with the results of earlier experiments and the effective coefficients as found in experiments in real river flows.     

Effects of Groyne Layout on the Flow in Groyne Fields: Laboratory Experiments

This research is aimed at finding efficient alternative designs, in the physical, economical, and ecological sense, for the standard groynes as they are found in the large rivers of Europe. In order to test the effects of various groyne shapes on the flow in a groyne field, experiments were performed in a physical model of a schematized river reach, geometrically scaled 1:40. Four different types of schematized groynes were tested, all arranged in an array of five identical groyne fields, i.e., standard reference groynes, groynes with a head having a gentle slope and extending into the main channel, permeable groynes consisting of pile rows, and hybrid groynes consisting of a lowered impermeable groyne with a pile row on top. Flow velocities were measured using particle tracking velocimetry. The design of the experiment was such that the cross-sectional area blocked by the groyne was the same in all cases. Depending on the groyne head shape and the extent of submergence variations in the intensity of vortex shedding and recirculation in the groyne field were observed. The experimental data are used to understand the physical processes like vortex formation and detachment near the groyne head. It is demonstrated that the turbulence properties near and downstream of the groyne can be manipulated by changing the permeability and slope of the groyne head. It is also observed that for submerged conditions the flow becomes complex and locally dominated by three-dimensional effects, which will make it difficult to predict by applying depth average numerical models or by three-dimensional models with a coarse resolution in the vertical direction.     

Flow Details near River Groynes: Experimental Investigation

Experiments have been carried out in a fixed-bed flume for a schematized straight river reach with groynes on one side to study the dynamics of the flow near groynes. The flume had a geometrical scale of 1∶40, based on typical dimensions of the Dutch River Waal. Both emergent and submerged groynes were studied. The measurements demonstrate the differences in the nature of the turbulence between submerged and emerged groynes stages; and provide insight into the flow pattern in the vicinity of groynes, the shape and the extent of the mixing layer at different flow stages, and the dynamic behavior of the velocity along the mixing layer between the main channel and the groyne fields. A parameterization of the turbulence characteristics of the flow near groynes is presented. Large-scale velocity fluctuations are found in all test cases, with timescales that vary with the flow stage. The large-scale u and v velocity fluctuations are in phase in the center of the mixing layer and out of phase for the points on the boundaries of the mixing layer.     

Sediment Exchange between a River and Its Groyne Fields: Mobile-Bed Experiment

Experiments have been carried out in a mobile-bed laboratory flume in order to study the sediment exchange process between the main channel and the groyne fields. The flume represented half the width of a schematized river reach with a series of groynes. The experiment was designed to represent typical dimensions of the Dutch River Waal at a geometrical scale of 1:100. The conditions were set to guarantee bed load as well as suspended load sediment transport. Conditions with submerged and emerged groynes were investigated. In addition to traditional measurements, viz., bed-level changes, suspended sediment concentrations, and flow velocities, bed-form propagation was measured in two dimensions using a the particle image velocimetry technique. The results were analyzed with focus on sediment exchange mechanisms and sediment transport patterns. The results demonstrate that under all flow conditions there is a net import of sediment into the groyne fields. The prevailing transport mechanisms vary with the flow stage: if the groynes are emerged it is mainly advection by the primary circulation cell, whereas if the groynes are submerged it is rather residual advection by large-scale coherent flow structures (in a straight reach). Additional entrainment of sediment by enhanced turbulence complicates the erosion/deposition patterns.     

Purging of a Neutrally Buoyant or a Dense Miscible Contaminant from a Rectangular Cavity. II: Case of an Incoming Fully Turbulent Overflow

Fully three-dimensional (3D) large-eddy simulation calculations of the flow past two-dimensional cavities for the case in which the incoming flow is fully turbulent are conducted to study the purging of neutrally buoyant or dense miscible contaminants introduced instantaneously inside the cavity. 3D simulations are needed because in the turbulent case (TC), as opposed to the laminar inflow case (LC) considered in the companion paper, the interactions between the coherent structures advected from the incoming channel and the eddies inside the cavity are highly 3D and have a nonnegligible effect on the mass exchange processes between the cavity and channel. Similar to the LC, it is found that the mechanism of removal of the contaminant is very different between the neutrally buoyant and buoyant cases. In the neutrally buoyant TC simulation the contaminant is ejected from the cavity due to the interactions among the large scale eddies in the separated shear layer, the coherent structures convected from the upstream channel over the cavity, and the main recirculation eddies inside the cavity. In the TC simulation with a negatively buoyant contaminant, internal wave breaking is observed to occur over the initial phases of the mixing which, along with other turbulent mixing phenomena, reduces the mean density gradient across the density interface. In the later stages, the contaminant removal and mixing processes are controlled by the interactions of the trailing edge vortex with the bottom layer containing denser contaminant beneath it and upstream of it (for the final stages when the vortex touches the cavity bottom). The oscillations in the size, position, and intensity of the trailing edge vortex are larger than the ones observed in the LC. As expected, turbulent mixing accelerates the purging process in the TC simulations.     

Purging of a Neutrally Buoyant or a Dense Miscible Contaminant from a Rectangular Cavity. I: Case of an Incoming Laminar Boundary Layer

The flow past two-dimensional (2D) channel cavities along with the removal of neutrally buoyant or dense miscible contaminants introduced instantaneously inside the cavity are studied using eddy resolving techniques. In the simulations, the incoming boundary layer is laminar and the flow is observed not to transition to turbulence as it is convected over the cavity. As for these flow conditions the main coherent structures in the separated shear layer over the cavity are quasi-dimensional, 2D simulations are performed. It is found that the mechanism of removal of the contaminant is very different between the neutrally buoyant and buoyant cases. In the neutrally buoyant case the contaminant is purged from the cavity mostly due to the interactions between the vortices shed in the separated shear layer with the main recirculation eddies inside the cavity and with the trailing edge corner. In the simulations in which a dense contaminant is introduced inside the cavity, after the initial stages of the mass exchange process, the main phenomenon is the presence of a large amplitude internal wave motion which interacts with a strong cavity vortex situated near the trailing edge corner in between the shear layer and the density interface. The density variation across this oscillatory interface is strong. Through this interaction wisps of denser contaminant are extracted from the region beneath the density interface, before being ejected from the cavity by the separated shear layer vortices. The values of the global mass exchange coefficients for the different phases of the purging process are estimated from simple dead-zone models. As expected, the purging process is delayed in the case in which the density of the contaminant is larger than the one of the carrying fluid.     

Flow in Open-Channel Embayments

This study investigates flows in a square and a rectangular embayment located on the side bank of an open channel. It is found that the main flow of the open channel induces a circulatory flow in the square and rectangular embayment and the center of the circulatory flow is shifted downstream in comparison with the center of the embayment. A solution of the shallow water equations solved using the method of variation yields results of the 95% confidence intervals within 10% of mean errors between the observed and computed nondimensional velocities.     

Eddy Taxonomy Methodology around a Submerged Barb Obstacle within a Fixed Rough Bed

Past research in environmental hydraulics has established the consideration that small- and large-scale turbulent eddy structures correspond to fast and slow fluctuations within a velocity time series measured at a fixed location. This work embraces this concept and develops an eddy taxonomy methodology to classify the prominent small- and large-scale eddies in the vicinity of an obstacle within a fixed rough bed. The previously documented visual interpretation technique is used in conjunction with a novel technique, which utilizes the statistical skew parameter, to quantify the moving-average time step at which large-scale eddies may be isolated from small-scale eddies. Thereafter, triple decomposition theory is employed and prominent spatial and temporal scales (i.e., integral length scales and periodicity) of small- and large-scale eddies are calculated. The eddy taxonomy methodology is implemented using acoustic Doppler velocimeter time-series measurements captured in the vicinity of an experimental model of a submerged barb obstacle—a hydraulic structure used for bank protection and increasing aquatic diversity. Implementation of the eddy taxonomy methodology using the streamwise velocity (u) time series and streamwise-vertical Reynolds stress (uw) time series provide similar results for the time step necessary to decompose large- from small-scale eddies. Eddy taxonomy results indicate the presence of large-scale, macroturbulent eddies throughout the barb test section with periodicity and length scales that agree with literature reported values. Additionally, small-scale bed derived eddies are most pronounced in the deflected flow regions where the barb obstacle has less influence upon the flow, while multiple small-scale eddies, including ejection, wake, and Kelvin–Helmotz associated eddies, persist in the downstream overtopping and wake regions of the barb obstacle.     

Study on the transport of suspended sediment in an open channel flow with permeable spur dikes

The transport of suspended sediment in rivers with spur dikes is an important issue for bank protection and environmental management. Laboratory experiments were performed to study the characteristics of the flow and the transport of suspended sediment in an open channel with permeable dikes. Firstly, the essentials of these characteristics were studied by comparing results of flume experiments on permeable and impermeable dikes. The influence of the aspect ratio (d/l) of the interval between dikes (d) to the length of dikes (l) on these characteristics was then investigated. In these experiments, the properties of horizontal eddies, turbulence structures, and suspended sediment concentrations were studied. The results show that the development of large-scale horizontal eddies requires some distance in a shear layer for permeable dikes, although they are periodically generated from the first dike in the case of impermeable dikes. The basic structures of horizontal eddies are independent of the aspect ratio in the equilibrium region for permeable dikes. The suspended sediment concentrations for cases of permeable dikes gradually decrease between the several upstream dikes and they approach a uniform distribution in the downstream region, although those in the case of the impermeable dikes are relatively uniform in the downstream direction.     

Numerical Investigation of Plunging Density Current

When a buoyant inflow of higher density enters a reservoir, it sinks below the ambient water and forms an underflow. Downstream of the plunge point, the flow becomes progressively diluted due to the fluid entrainment. The entrainment rate is strongly dependent on the Richardson number and reaches a constant value well downstream of the plunge point. This study is concerned with the analysis of the plunging phenomenon and the determination of the entrainment. A k-ε model including buoyancy effects, both in a sloping and a diverging channel, is used to reproduce the main flow characteristics. A relation between the depth at the plunge point in a channel of constant width and in a diverging channel is established, and theoretical results for the calculation of the dense layer thickness are provided. The latter indicates that the spreading rate of the dense layer in a diverging channel is a function of both the entrainment rate and the channel width. The predictions of the plunge line location are in agreement with most semiempirical equations.     

Coherent Structure Dynamics in Turbulent Flows Past In-Stream Structures: Some Insights Gained via Numerical Simulation

Large-scale coherent vortical structures in natural streams and rivers dominate flow and transport processes and impact the stability of stream banks, the diversity and abundance of organisms, and the quality of running waters in aquatic ecosystems. Thus, understanding and being able to model the dynamics of energetic coherent structures in such flows at ecologically relevant scales are crucial prerequisites for developing a science-based ecosystem restoration framework. We review recent progress toward the development of coherent-structure-resolving (CSR) computational fluid dynamics techniques, based on hybrid URANS/LES modeling strategies, for simulating turbulent flows in open-channels with hydraulic structures. CSR simulations of the turbulent horseshoe vortex (THSV) past bed-mounted piers explained the physical mechanism leading to the experimentally documented bimodal velocity fluctuations of the vortex and underscored the importance of the Reynolds number as a key parameter governing the THSV dynamics. Simulations of high Reynolds number flows past surface-piercing, groynelike structures in open channels revealed the complexity of the recirculating region at the upstream face of the groyne, underscored the interaction of the flow in this region with the energetic shear layer shed from the point of separation at the upstream side wall, and demonstrated the importance of flow depth in the vorticity dynamics of such flows. The paper also identifies areas for future work and modeling challenges that need to be addressed for the computational tools to be able to accurately predict flow and transport processes in real-life aquatic environments.     

Supercritical Exchange Flow Down a Sill

A detailed experimental study was conducted to investigate the hydraulics, interfacial instability, and mixing in the supercritical region of exchange flows downstream of a sill crest. Measurements of the velocity field and the interface position were obtained using flow visualization and particle image velocimetry. Large periodic fluctuations in the measurements of the flow rate and interface position were caused by the Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instabilities at the interface as well as the internal seiche. These KH instabilities caused entrainment of fluid from the upper layer into the lower layer, with the entrainment coefficient considerably larger than the values for gravity currents.     

Three-Dimensional Numerical Modeling of Mixing at River Confluences

Lateral mixing of a pollutant is considered as a slow process that is usually complete within 100–300 river widths. Recent studies on flow dynamics at river confluences revealed that lateral mixing can be markedly enhanced when the tributary channel is shallower than the main channel. This study uses a three-dimensional model to examine mixing processes immediately downstream of confluences as well as further downstream in the mainstream. Simulations are presented for a concordant and discordant laboratory junction and a field confluence for a low and a high flow condition. The decrease in standard deviation at a cross section of a tracer over a distance of 5 channel widths is 30% for discordant beds but only 10% for concordant beds in the laboratory simulation. At the natural site, bed discordance is more important at the low flow than at the high flow with corresponding decreases in the standard deviation of 31 and 18% over 3.5 channel widths. Mixing is completed after a distance of 25 and 37 channel widths for the low and high flow conditions, respectively. Further downstream, mixing is mainly affected by planform curvature of the channel.     

Detached Eddy Simulation Investigation of Turbulence at a Circular Pier with Scour Hole

This paper uses results from detached eddy simulation to reveal the dynamics of large-scale coherent eddies in the flow around a circular pier with an equilibrium scour hole. This is important for the sediment transport because the local scour process is controlled to a large extent by the large-scale coherent structures present in the near-bed region. The present paper investigates the dynamics of these coherent structures, their interactions and their role in entraining sediment in the later stages of the scour process when the horseshoe vortex system is stabilized by the presence of a large scour hole. The pier Reynolds number was 2.06×105, outside the range of well-resolved large-eddy simulation (LES). Additionally, scale effects are investigated based on comparison with LES results obtained at a much lower Reynolds number of 16,000 in a previous investigation. The paper provides a detailed study of the dynamics of the main necklace vortices of the horseshoe vortex system, including an investigation of the bimodal oscillations, their effect on the amplification of the turbulence within the scour hole and the interactions of the necklace vortices with the downflow. Several mechanisms for the growth of the downstream part of the scour hole in the later stages of the scour process are discussed. Similar to the low-Reynolds-number simulation, and consistent with experimental observations, the presence of strong upwelling motions near the symmetry plane resulted in the suppression of the large-scale vortex shedding in the wake. The fact that the nondimensional values of the turbulent kinetic energy and pressure RMS fluctuations in the higher Reynolds number simulation were consistently lower inside the regions of high turbulence amplification associated with the main necklace vortex, the separated shear layers and the near-wake shows that changes in the flow and turbulence due to the Reynolds number and scour hole geometry can be quantitatively significant over Reynolds numbers between 104 and 105.     

Scale Effects in Flume Experiments on Flow around a Spur Dike in Flatbed Channel

This paper presents the findings from a series of flume experiments conducted to determine scale effects in small-scale models of flow around a single spur dike (wing-dam, groyne, or abutment) placed in a channel whose bed is fixed and flat. The flow features of primary interest are flow-thalweg alignment (line of maximum streamwise velocity) around a dike, and area extent of the flow-separation region (wake) immediately downstream of the dike. Those features are of practical concern in the deployment of dikes for various channel control purposes. The scale effects of concern herein are those attributable to use small length scales together with a bed-shear stress parameter (e.g., Shields parameter) as the primary criterion for dynamic similitude. Small-scale models, especially micromodels, often are used for investigating channel-control issues. Also, the shear-stress criterion is commonly used for models of flow in loose-bed channels, whereas Froude number commonly is the primary similitude criterion for models of fixed-bed open-channel flows. The experiments show that use of a shear-stress parameter as the primary criterion for dynamic similitude influences the flow thalweg and flow separation region at a dike. It does so by distorting pressure gradients around the model dike and by affecting turbulence generated by the dike. It also is shown that, for a range of small models, thalweg alignment and extent of separation region do not scale with model length scales. These findings are important for interpreting results from small hydraulic models, especially micromodels, of flow in loose-bed channels.     

Flow Characteristics around a Circular Cylinder Placed Horizontally above a Plane Boundary

Flow characteristics around a circular cylinder positioned near a plane boundary (on which laminar boundary layer flow develops in the absence of circular cylinder), are investigated for Reynolds numbers R ranging from 7.8×102 to 1.15×104. Particle image velocimetry and fiber laser Doppler velocimetry were used to measure the velocity fields and velocity time histories, respectively. Flow structures are particularly revealed using flow visualization technique at R = 7.8×102 for gap ratios G/D (where G is the net gap between the surface of circular cylinder and the plane boundary), varying from 0 to 4. Based on the experimental results, the variation of Strouhal number of shedding vortex (or eddy) with G/D, the mechanism of vortex shedding suppression, and the streamwise velocity profiles of the upper shear layers and gap flows for small G/D are all discussed. Although the regular, alternate vortex shedding is suppressed for G/D<0.5, the periodicity could be detected due to the vortex (or eddy) shedding from the upper shear layer of the circular cylinder. Gap flow switching randomly is found and first put forward to be the main reason of multipeak or broadband spectral characteristics of the shedding event at a certain small gap ratio. It is also found that the streamwise velocity profiles of the upper shear layer, where periodic shedding eddies originate, exhibit well-behaved similarity. In addition, a unique similarity of mean streamwise velocity profiles of the gap flows is demonstrated for G/D ? 0.3. For R<4×103, the S increases as G/D decreases to its maximum around G/D ? 0.5 and then decreases as G/D decreases. For R ≥ 4×103, although most of the previous studies indicate that the S is insensitive to G/D, the present study shows that S still increases as G/D decreases but the variations of S are in a small range (i.e., 0.18 ? S ? 0.22).     

Fluid dynamics in channel reactors stirred by submerged gas injection

This work describes the fluid flow and associated local and longitudinal mixing phenomena which influence the behavior and characteristics of continuous flow reactors, such as the Noranda reactor and the Q-S process. In the present work, mixing in channel reactors agitated by submerged gas injection along the length has been studied using a water model. The effects of gas injector separation, gas flow rate, depth of water, lateral configuration of injectors, submersion depth of gas injectors, and width of the channel have been investigated. It has been found that the longitudinal mixing depended significantly on the locations of the gas injectors. For constant values of other variables, there existed an optimum injector separation at which maximum longitudinal mixing was found. Industrial applications of this study are described.     

Fluid dynamics in channel reactors stirred by submerged gas injection

This work describes the fluid flow and associated local and longitudinal mixing phenomena which influence the behavior and characteristics of continuous flow reactors, such as the Noranda reactor and the Q-S process. In the present work, mixing in channel reactors agitated by submerged gas injection along the length has been studied using a water model. The effects of gas injector separation, gas flow rate, depth of water, lateral configuration of injectors, submersion depth of gas injectors, and width of the channel have been investigated. It has been found that the longitudinal mixing depended significantly on the locations of the gas injectors. For constant values of other variables, there existed an optimum injector separation at which maximum longitudinal mixing was found. Industrial applications of this study are described.     

LDV measurements and computation of a turbulent circular jet placed non-concentrically in a confining pipe

Quantitative and nonintrusive fluid velocity and turbulence measurements obtained using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) in a circular jet that is positioned nonconcentrically in a confining pipe are presented. The experimental findings are compared with the results obtained by the finite-element computational simulation of the flow. The measured and predicted contours of the time-averaged axial velocity reveal the presence of a three-dimensional (3-D) asymmetric reverse-flow region, with its radial and circumferential extent depending on the axial position and the eccentricity ratio. Due to the weakened radial mixing and spreading of the jet for the higher eccentricities, the transition to the fully developed state is delayed for the high eccentricity cases. Measured and predicted contours of the axial turbulence fluctuations exhibit the ringlike distribution, although it is observed in an offset position for a given eccentricity ratio. At the downstream stations, the ringlike distribution tends to become more symmetric. The basic phenomena of flow reversal, preferential mixing, and shear layer growth are recovered by the computational predictions based on the high-Reynolds-number turbulence model. The time-averaged velocity measurements compare well with the predictions, whereas only qualitative comparison can be observed between the measured and predicted turbulence fluctuations.     

混合LES-RANS模型在结晶器钢液流场模拟中的应用

采用了一种新的混合LES-RANS（大涡模拟-雷诺平均模型）湍流模型模拟结晶器中钢液的流场.模型通过修正湍流黏度系数对水口和结晶器内湍流进行过滤,对大尺度的湍流直接采用Navier-Stokes方程求解计算,对小尺度的脉动采用标准k-ε模型进行计算.该模型能避免RANS的过分耗散并且能捕捉到更多的瞬态湍流信息.模型通过对连铸结晶器内液态金属GaInSn模型速度进行测量验证,速度测量方法为超声波多普勒测速仪（UDV）测速法.新模型与实验测量值吻合程度明显好于RANS模拟的结果,能更准确地预测结晶器和水口内的湍流行为.结晶器内瞬态流动特征表明,水口两侧流体呈周期性的偏流,周期约为5s.