Flow and Turbulence Structure around Abutments with Sloped Sidewalls
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 7
Abstract
Results of eddy-resolving numerical simulations are used to investigate flow and turbulence structure around an isolated abutment with sloped sidewalls at conditions corresponding to the start (flatbed) and the end (equilibrium bathymetry) of the scour process. Besides cases where the abutment is not protected against scour using riprap, the paper considers cases where a riprap apron of constant width is present around the base of the abutment at the start of the scour process. The paper also discusses the effect of large-scale turbulence (e.g., horseshoe vortex system, eddies shed in the separated shear layer, vortices forming in the recirculation regions) on sediment entrainment and transport. Using information about the position and coherence of the large-scale turbulent structures present in the vicinity of the bed surface, the paper discusses some of the reasons for the very different bed scour patterns observed at equilibrium scour conditions for cases without and with a riprap apron. The effect of the degree of bluntness of the upstream side of the abutment on flow and turbulence structure is discussed based on comparison of results obtained for abutments with sloped sidewalls with those obtained for a vertical-wall abutment of similar length. The later type of abutment is characterized by a stronger downflow, the formation of a more coherent horseshoe vortex system, and the formation of a deeper scour hole.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Taiwan’s National Center for High Performance Computing (NCHC) and the Transportation Research and Analysis Computer Center (TRACC) at the Argonne National Laboratory for providing the computational resources needed to perform most of the simulations. The authors would also like to thank Dr. R. Morales and Prof. R. Ettema from University Wyoming for providing the bathymetry and available velocity data from their laboratory experiments.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 7 • July 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 3, 2013
Accepted: Jan 24, 2014
Published online: Mar 28, 2014
Published in print: Jul 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Aug 28, 2014
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