Simulation of Three-Dimensional Free-Surface Dam-Break Flows over a Cuboid, Cylinder, and Sphere
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 9
Abstract
A three-dimensional (3D) numerical study is undertaken to investigate dam-break flows over 3D structures. A two-phase flow model has been developed within the large-eddy simulation (LES) framework. The governing equations have been discretized using the finite-volume method, with the air-water interface being captured using a volume-of-fluid method while the Cartesian cut-cell method deals with complex geometries. The robustness and versatility of the proposed numerical approach are demonstrated first by applying it to a 3D dam-break flow over a cuboid. Good agreement is obtained between the simulation results and the corresponding experimental data and other numerical solutions. Then, a horizontal cylinder and a sphere are subjected to the same dam-break flow. Snapshots of water surface profiles are presented and discussed, and turbulent vortical structures are identified in the flow. In addition, the internal kinematics, hydrodynamic loading on the structure, and energy dissipation during dam-break flow impact are analyzed and discussed, providing more insight into such flows.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request (numerical results and flow profiles).
Acknowledgments
Financial support was provided by the Royal Society Newton Advanced Fellowship (NAF/R1/201156), the EPSRC grants (EP/R022135/1 and EP/S016376/1), and the Cardiff University GCRF project. We would like to thank Professor Arthur Veldman from the University of Groningen for providing his experimental and numerical pictures. Constructive comments from anonymous reviewers and the associate editor for the improvement of the manuscript are gratefully acknowledged.
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Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 9 • September 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 6, 2020
Accepted: Mar 25, 2021
Published online: Jun 22, 2021
Published in print: Sep 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Nov 22, 2021
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