CFD Analysis of Turbulent Flow of Power-Law Fluid in a Partially Blocked Eccentric Annulus

This study focuses on analyzing the turbulent flow of drilling fluid in inclined wells using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique. The analysis is performed considering an annulus with a fixed eccentricity of 90% and varying fluid properties, diameter ratio, and bed thickness to examine velocity profile, pressure loss, and overall wall and average bed shear stresses. CFD simulation results are compared with existing data for validation. The pressure loss predicted with CFD agrees with the data. After verification, predictions are used to establish a correlation that can be applied to compute bed shear stress. The established correlation mostly displays a discrepancy of up to 10% when compared with simulation data. The correlation can be used to optimize hole cleaning and manage downhole pressure.

Effects of Secondary Currents on Turbulence Characteristics of Supercritical Open Channel Flows at Low Aspect Ratios

In this paper, we present secondary current effects on the turbulence characteristics of supercritical narrow open channel flows over a smooth fixed bed. The main hydraulic parameters are low channel width to flow depth ratios varying between 1 and 2, and Froude numbers (F) ranging from 2 to 4. Detailed profiling of instantaneous streamwise and vertical flow velocities was conducted in a laboratory flume using a 2D laser Doppler anemometry. The cross-sectional distributions of mean flow velocities, turbulence intensities, Reynolds, and bed shear stresses were obtained from the measurements. The mean streamwise and vertical flow velocity distributions reveal that four pairs of secondary current cells are formed: a pair of well-developed free-surface vortices near the water surface, a pair of bottom vortices near the bed, and two pairs of mid-vortices between the free-surface and bottom vortices. These secondary currents cause bulging of the contour lines of the streamwise velocities with respect to the water surface and the bottom corner bisectors resulting in an undulated pattern of the mean velocity distribution across the cross-section. Furthermore, they cause the velocity dip phenomenon, i.e., the maximum flow velocity occurs well below the surface, and redistribute the Reynolds and bed shear stresses in transverse direction. The results demonstrate that decreasing the aspect ratio increases the strength of the secondary currents causing a significant change in flow patterns with larger free-surface vortices compared to the bottom vortices. Compared to the aspect ratio effect, the Froude number only slightly impacts the flow characteristics as a result of flow non-uniformity. For all investigated aspect ratios and Froude numbers, bed shear stresses are concentrated at the flume center, and on average 5 to 10% higher than their mean values. The modified wake-log-law holds both in the inner and outer regions, matching well with the experimental data for all test conditions. The present findings are discussed with literature data, and their impact on engineering applications is demonstrated.

Beyond Human Interventions on Complex Bays: Effects on Water and Wave Dynamics (Study Case Cádiz Bay, Spain)

Bays are coastal environments with significant socio-economic importance, which has led to the development of human interventions in their interior that can have an important impact on the water and wave dynamics, which in turn modify their morphodynamics and water renewal capacity. In order to deepen our understanding of these impacts, numerical modeling was used in a bay in southern Spain to analyze the effect of inner harbor expansion and channel deepening, including the baroclinic and wave propagation effects, as well as variations in salinity and temperature. The results show that the deepening of the channel decreases the amplitude and speed of the tidal wave as it propagates through the bay, reducing the effects of friction and increasing the flushing time. The system evolves from convergent to a damping system that can potentially reduce the effects produced by projected sea level rise. In addition, the seasonal variability of salinity and temperature is reduced, increasing the bed shear stresses and resulting in increased turbidity that can affect the biogeochemistry of the bay. Finally, wave heights decrease along the main waterway, although the yearly-average wave energy flux is only slightly modified on the interior beaches of the bay. However, significant variations are observed during storms, which could affect the morphodynamics of these beaches.

Comparison of Hydrodynamics Simulated by 1D, 2D and 3D Models Focusing on Bed Shear Stresses

For centuries, scientists have been attempting to map complex hydraulic processes to empirical formulas using different flow resistance definitions, which are further applied in numerical models. Now questions arise as to how consistent the simulated results are between the model dimensions and what influence different morphologies and flow conditions have. For this reason, 1D, 2D and 3D simulations were performed and compared with each other in three study areas with up to three different discharges. A standardized, relative comparison of the models shows that after successful calibration at measured water levels, the associated 2D/1D and 3D/1D ratios are almost unity, while bed shear stresses in the 3D models are only about 62–86% of the simulated 1D values and 90–100% in the case of 2D/1D. Reasons for this can be found in different roughness definitions, in simplified geometries, in different calculation approaches, as well as in influences of the turbulence closure. Moreover, decreasing 3D/1D ratios of shear stresses were found with increasing discharges and with increasing slopes, while the equivalent 2D/1D ratios remain almost unchanged. The findings of this study should be taken into account, particularly in subsequent sediment transport simulations, as these calculations are often based on shear stresses.

BEACHFACE EVOLUTION UNDER TWO SWASH EVENTS BY TWO SOLITARY WAVES

Swash zone morphodynamics is of great signi cance for nearshore morphological change, and it is important to provide reliable numerical prediction for beachface evolution in the swash zone. Most of the numerical work on swash zone morphodynamics carried out so far has focused primarily on beach evolution under one single swash event. In reality, multiple swash events interact, and these swash interactions have been recognised as important in the beachface evolution. Swash-swash interactions leads to energy dissipation, enhanced bed shear stresses and sediment transport (Puleo and Torres- Freyermuth, 2016). In this paper, we investigate the beachface evolution under two swash events using numerical simulations, in which shock-shock interactions are described by dam-break problems.