An initial assessment of bed destabilization risk past vegetation patches using instrumented particles

Author(s):  
Yi Xu ◽  
Valyrakis Manousos ◽  
Panagiotis Michalis

<p>Instream vegetation may alter the mean and turbukent flow fields leading to destabilizing riverbed surface, under certain flow conditions. In particular, recent research on instream vegetation hydrodynamics and ecohydrogeomorphology has focused on how energetic flow structures and bulk flow parameters downstream a vegetation may result in riverbed destabilization. This study, demonstrated the application of a 20mm novel instrumented particle in recording entrainment rates downstream simulated vegetation patches of distinct densities, at various distances downstream these. A patch of 6mm acrilic cylinders is used to simulate the emergent vegetation having the same diameter (12cm) and different porosities or densities (void volume equal to 1.25%, 3.15%, 6.25%, 11.25%, and 17.25%). The flow velocity near the instrumented particle is recorded using acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV) with appropriate seeding, under clear water conditions. Preliminary results are presented with focus on the effect of vegetation patch density on the flow field and subsequent effects on particle entrainment rates and implications for bed surface destabilisation.</p>

Author(s):  
Donato M. Palermo ◽  
Feng Gao ◽  
John W. Chew ◽  
Paul F. Beard

Abstract A systematic study of sealing performance for a chute style turbine rim seal using URANS methods is reported. This extends previous studies from a configuration without external flow in the main annulus to cases with a circumferentially uniform axial flow and vane generated swirling annulus flow (but without rotor blades). The study includes variation of the mean seal-to-rotor velocity ratio, main annulus-to-rotor velocity ratio, and seal clearance. The effects on the unsteady flow structures and the degree of main annulus flow ingestion into the rim seal cavity are examined. Sealing effectiveness is quantified by modeling a passive scalar, and the timescales for the convergence of this solution are considered. It has been found that intrinsic flow unsteadiness occurs in most cases, with the presence of vanes and external flow modifying, the associated flow structures and frequencies. Some sensitivities to the annulus flow conditions are identified. The circumferential pressure asymmetry generated by the vanes has a clear influence on the flow structure but does not lead to higher ingestion rates than the other conditions studied.


Author(s):  
Maryam Khajavi ◽  
Seyed Mahmood Kashefipour ◽  
Mahmood Shafai Bejestan

The bridge abutment is one of the main parts of a bridge and significantly contributes to bridge stability. This study experimentally investigated the effect of the unsteadiness characteristics of hydrographs on the scouring phenomenon around the bridge abutment under clear water conditions. The ability of the permeable and impermeable spur dikes and their distances from the abutment at its upstream on the control of scouring around the bridge abutment was also investigated. The experimental observations imply that the effect of unsteady flow on the scouring process is relatively similar to the steady flow conditions. The results showed that the base time of hydrographs, the type of spur dikes, and the distance of spur dikes from the bridge abutment were the dominant parameters among the considered parameters in this study on the scouring process around the abutment. The results also revealed that the impermeable spur dike was able to completely eliminate scouring around the bridge abutment for two distances of 2L and 3L (where L is the abutment length) for both steady and unsteady flow conditions.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 1787
Author(s):  
Leena J. Shevade ◽  
Franco A. Montalto

Green infrastructure (GI) is viewed as a sustainable approach to stormwater management that is being rapidly implemented, outpacing the ability of researchers to compare the effectiveness of alternate design configurations. This paper investigated inflow data collected at four GI inlets. The performance of these four GI inlets, all of which were engineered with the same inlet lengths and shapes, was evaluated through field monitoring. A forensic interpretation of the observed inlet performance was conducted using conclusions regarding the role of inlet clogging and inflow rate as described in the previously published work. The mean inlet efficiency (meanPE), which represents the percentage of tributary area runoff that enters the inlet was 65% for the Nashville inlet, while at Happyland the NW inlet averaged 30%, the SW inlet 25%, and the SE inlet 10%, considering all recorded events during the monitoring periods. The analysis suggests that inlet clogging was the main reason for lower inlet efficiency at the SW and NW inlets, while for the SE inlet, performance was compromised by a reverse cross slope of the street. Spatial variability of rainfall, measurement uncertainty, uncertain tributary catchment area, and inlet depression characteristics are also correlated with inlet PE. The research suggests that placement of monitoring sensors should consider low flow conditions and a strategy to measure them. Additional research on the role of various maintenance protocols in inlet hydraulics is recommended.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3625
Author(s):  
Jon Hardwick ◽  
Ed B. L. Mackay ◽  
Ian G. C. Ashton ◽  
Helen C. M. Smith ◽  
Philipp R. Thies

Numerical modeling of currents and waves is used throughout the marine energy industry for resource assessment. This study compared the output of numerical flow simulations run both as a standalone model and as a two-way coupled wave–current simulation. A regional coupled flow-wave model was established covering the English Channel using the Delft D-Flow 2D model coupled with a SWAN spectral wave model. Outputs were analyzed at three tidal energy sites: Alderney Race, Big Roussel (Guernsey), and PTEC (Isle of Wight). The difference in the power in the tidal flow between coupled and standalone model runs was strongly correlated to the relative direction of the waves and currents. The net difference between the coupled and standalone runs was less than 2.5%. However, when wave and current directions were aligned, the mean flow power was increased by up to 7%, whereas, when the directions were opposed, the mean flow power was reduced by as much as 9.6%. The D-Flow Flexible Mesh model incorporates the effects of waves into the flow calculations in three areas: Stokes drift, forcing by radiation stress gradients, and enhancement of the bed shear stress. Each of these mechanisms is discussed. Forcing from radiation stress gradients is shown to be the dominant mechanism affecting the flow conditions at the sites considered, primarily caused by dissipation of wave energy due to white-capping. Wave action is an important consideration at tidal energy sites. Although the net impact on the flow power was found to be small for the present sites, the effect is site specific and may be significant at sites with large wave exposure or strong asymmetry in the flow conditions and should thus be considered for detailed resource and engineering assessments.


2014 ◽  
Vol 905 ◽  
pp. 369-373
Author(s):  
Choo Tai Ho ◽  
Yoon Hyeon Cheol ◽  
Yun Gwan Seon ◽  
Noh Hyun Suk ◽  
Bae Chang Yeon

The estimation of a river discharge by using a mean velocity equation is very convenient and rational. Nevertheless, a research on an equation calculating a mean velocity in a river was not entirely satisfactory after the development of Chezy and Mannings formulas which are uniform equations. In this paper, accordingly, the mean velocity in unsteady flow conditions which are shown loop form properties was estimated by using a new mean velocity formula derived from Chius 2-D velocity formula. The results showed that the proposed method was more accurate in estimating discharge, when compared with the conventional formulas.


Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Jiang ◽  
Mingjun Diao ◽  
Haomiao Sun ◽  
Yu Ren

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the upstream angle on flow over a trapezoidal broad-crested weir based on numerical simulations using the open-source toolbox OpenFOAM. Eight trapezoidal broad-crested weir configurations with different upstream face angles (θ = 10°, 15°, 22.5°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, 90°) were investigated under free-flow conditions. The volume-of-fluid (VOF) method and two turbulence models (the standard k-ε model and the SST k-w model) were employed in the numerical simulations. The numerical results were compared with the experimental results obtained from published papers. The root mean square error (RMSE) and the mean absolute percent error (MAPE) were used to evaluate the accuracy of the numerical results. The statistical results show that RMSE and MAPE values of the standard k-ε model are 0.35–0.67% and 0.50–1.48%, respectively; the RMSE and MAPE values of the SST k-w model are 0.25–0.66% and 0.55–1.41%, respectively. Additionally, the effects of the upstream face angle on the flow features, including the discharge coefficient and the flow separation zone, were also discussed in the present study.


Author(s):  
Carlos Toro-Escobar ◽  
Richard Voigt ◽  
Bruce Melville ◽  
Meng Chiew ◽  
Gary Parker

Design criteria for riprap at bridge piers in rivers is based on the specification of a size, gradation, and cover that does not fail under an appropriately chosen flood flow. Experimental tests of riprap performance at bridge piers to date have relied on a configuration for which the ambient bed is not mobilized, that is, clear-water conditions. In the field, however, riprap is, as a rule, subjected to mobile-bed conditions during floods. Recent experiments by three cooperating research groups (University of Auckland, Nanyang University, and St. Anthony Falls Laboratory) indicate a heretofore unrecognized mechanism for riprap failure under mobile-bed conditions. When the flow is in the dune regime, the passage of successive dunes causes riprap that is never directly entrained by the flow to sink and disperse. Pier scour is realized as a consequence of these processes. In some cases, the depth of scour realized is not significantly less than that which would occur without riprap. When the riprap is fully underlain by a geotextile, edge effects can cause local removal of riprap, upturning of the geotextile, and general failure. When the riprap is underlain by a partial geotextile (i.e., one that covers an area less than the riprap), edge scour causes local sinking that anchors the geotextile. The sinking and dispersion of the rest of the riprap are greatly limited, and the riprap fails only when flow velocities are sufficient for direct entrainment. The experiments suggest improved design criteria for the installation of riprap in the field.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Najafzadeh ◽  
Jalal Shiri ◽  
Mohammad Rezaie-Balf

2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subrata K. Ghosh ◽  
R. K. Sahoo ◽  
Sunil K. Sarangi

A study has been conducted to determine the off-design performance of cryogenic turboexpander. A theoretical model to predict the losses in the components of the turboexpander along the fluid flow path has been developed. The model uses a one-dimensional solution of flow conditions through the turbine along the mean streamline. In this analysis, the changes of fluid and flow properties between different components of turboexpander have been considered. Overall, turbine geometry, pressure ratio, and mass flow rate are input information. The output includes performance and velocity diagram parameters for any number of given speeds over a range of turbine pressure ratio. The procedure allows any arbitrary combination of fluid species, inlet conditions, and expansion ratio since the fluid properties are properly taken care of in the relevant equations. The computational process is illustrated with an example.


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