Coherent Structures in Flat-Bed Abutment Flow: Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations and Experiments
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 129, Issue 3
Abstract
Numerical computations and laboratory experiments are carried out to investigate the three-dimensional structure of large-scale (coherent) vortices induced by bridge abutments on a flat bed. A finite-volume numerical method is developed for solving the unsteady, three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations, closed with the turbulence model, in generalized curvilinear coordinates and applied to study the flow in the vicinity of a typical abutment geometry with a fixed, flat bed. The computed flowfields reveal the presence of multiple, large-scale, unsteady vortices both in the upstream, “quiescent,” region of recirculating fluid and the shear-layer emanating from the edge of the foundation. These computational findings motivated the development of a novel experimental technique for visualizing the footprints of large-scale coherent structures at the free surface. The technique relies on digital photography and employs averaging of instantaneous images over finite-size windows to extract coherent eddies from the chaotic turbulent flow. Application of this technique to several abutment configurations yielded results that support the numerical findings.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 129 • Issue 3 • March 2003
Pages: 177 - 186
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 14, 2001
Accepted: Oct 21, 2002
Published online: Feb 14, 2003
Published in print: Mar 2003
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