Physical and Numerical Modeling of the Hydraulic Characteristics of Type-A Piano Key Weirs
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 5
Abstract
Piano key weirs (PKWs) have been introduced in recent years as a hydraulically efficient and cost-effective type of spillway, and there are more than 30 PKWs under construction or already constructed globally. However, owing to the numerous geometric parameters and complex hydraulic characteristics of PKWs, the discharge capacity of a PKW is still difficult to estimate. To improve the overall understanding of the flow behavior in the vicinity of PKWs and to investigate the intrinsic link between the structural parameters and discharge capacity of PKWs, this study employs a combination of numerical simulations and physical model tests to investigate the hydraulic characteristics of PKW models (including flow regimes, water surface lines, streamlines, and flow velocities) under different water head conditions. Furthermore, based on the detailed flow field information provided by the numerical simulations, the internal mechanism for the discharge capacity of the PKW is revealed by analyzing the flow field under the weir crest and the distribution of turbulent kinetic energy near the PKW.
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Acknowledgments
This study was partly supported by a National Natural Science Foundation-sponsored project (Grant No. 51579206), Key R&D Projects in Shaanxi Province (Grant No. 2018SF-352), and Shaanxi Province Natural Science Fundamental Research Project (Grant No. 2015JM5201).
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©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 13, 2018
Accepted: Sep 10, 2019
Published online: Feb 19, 2020
Published in print: May 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jul 19, 2020
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