Analysis of open channel flow with various layered vegetation using CFD, considering different near-wall treatment methods
International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
ISSN: 0961-5539
Article publication date: 20 February 2024
Issue publication date: 29 March 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of near-wall treatment approaches, which are crucial parameters in predicting the flow characteristics of open channels, and the influence of different vegetation covers in different layers.
Design/methodology/approach
Ansys Fluent, a computational fluid dynamics software, was used to calculate the flow and turbulence characteristics using a three-dimensional, turbulent (k-e realizable), incompressible and steady-flow assumption, along with various near-wall treatment approaches (standard, scalable, non-equilibrium and enhanced) in the vegetated channel. The numerical study was validated concerning an experimental study conducted in the existing literature.
Findings
The numerical model successfully predicted experimental results with relative error rates below 10%. It was determined that nonequilibrium wall functions exhibited the highest predictive success in experiment Run 1, standard wall functions in experiment Run 2 and enhanced wall treatments in experiment Run 3. This study has found that plant growth significantly alters open channel flow. In the contact zones, the velocities and the eddy viscosity are low, while in the free zones they are high. On the other hand, the turbulence kinetic energy and turbulence eddy dissipation are maximum at the solid–liquid interface, while they are minimum at free zones.
Originality/value
This is the first study, to the best of the author’s knowledge, concerning the performance of different near-wall treatment approaches on the prediction of vegetation-covered open channel flow characteristics. And this study provides valuable insights to improve the hydraulic performance of open-channel systems.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Declaration of interests: The author reports no conflict of interest.
Author ORCID: The author may include the ORCID identifiers as follows: R. Şibil, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3233-9052.
Citation
Şibil, R. (2024), "Analysis of open channel flow with various layered vegetation using CFD, considering different near-wall treatment methods", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 34 No. 4, pp. 1780-1810. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-11-2023-0704
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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