Large Eddy Simulation in Hydraulic Engineering: Examples of Laboratory-Scale Numerical Experiments
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 11
Abstract
Over the years, large eddy simulation (LES) has emerged as a tool to study problems in fluid mechanics characterized by complex physics and geometry. Among these, attention has been paid to studying problems of relevance in hydraulics and environmental fluid mechanics. For many years, LES has been used as an underresolved, or coarse, direct numerical simulation (DNS) where the scales unrepresented by the grid are modeled by means of a sub-grid-scale model, designed to drain energy from the resolved scales of motion. This method, although limited in applicability because of its computational cost, has allowed exploitation of the physics of a class of idealized flow fields of importance in hydraulic engineering. This study reports on investigations into processes of interest to hydraulic engineering. Some significant examples of such studies, together with relevant research from the literature, are given. Specifically, a description of literature related to turbulence in presence of longitudinal bars and local scours, studies of irregular roughness present in hydraulic applications, studies of Lagrangian and Eulerian dispersion processes, and studies of gravity currents is given. Although unable to give an answer to real-scale problems in hydraulic engineering, such studies allow unveiling of the physics behind phenomena present in hydraulics and, on the other hand, allow improved parametrization to be used in reduced-order models. The study is concluded with the author’s point of view on the importance of LES in hydraulic engineering in the upcoming future.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The author is indebted to the coauthors of the papers herein discussed, for their substantial contribution to the research. Over the years, this research has been supported by the Italian Minister for Research. The Italian Progetto Bandiera RITMARE (actions SP3-WP4-AZ3-UO07 and SP5-WP4-AZ4-UO06) is acknowledged for the financial support for the composition of the present paper.
References
Adduce, C., Sciortino, G., and Proietti, S. (2012). “Gravity currents produced by lock exchanges: Experiments and simulations with a two-layer shallow-water model with entrainment.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 111–121.
Armenio, V. (2016). “Large eddy simulation of environmental flows: From the laboratory-scale numerical experiments toward full-scale applications.” Whither turbulence and big data in the 21st century, A. Pollard, ed., Springer, Cham, Switzerland, 51–81.
Armenio, V., Falcomer, L., and Carnevale, L. (2004). “Large eddy simulation of a stably stratified flow over longitudinally ridged walls.” Direct and large-eddy simulation, V. Friedrich, R. Geurts, and B. Métais, eds., Springer, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
Armenio, V., and Fiorotto, V. (2001). “The importance of the forces acting on particles in turbulent flows.” Phys. Fluids, 13(8), 2437–2440.
Armenio, V., and Piomelli, U. (2000). “A Lagrangian mixed subgrid-scale model in generalized coordinates.” Flow Turbul. Combust., 65, 51–81.
Armenio, V., Piomelli, U., and Fiorotto, V. (1999). “Effect of the subgrid scales on particle motion.” Phys. Fluids, 11(10), 3030–3042.
Armenio, V., and Sarkar, S. (2002). “An investigation of stably-stratified turbulent channel flow using large eddy simulation.” J. Fluid Mech., 459, 1–42.
ASME. (2009). “Surface texture (surface roughness, waviness, and lay): An American standard.” ASME B46.1-2009 (revision of ANSI/ASME B46.1-1995), New York.
Balachandar, S., and Eaton, J. K. (2010). “Turbulent dispersed multiphase flow.” Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech., 42, 111–133.
Bressan, F., Ballio, F., and Armenio, V. (2011). “Turbulence around a scoured bridge abutment.” J. Turbul., 12, N3.
Cantero, M. I., Balachandar, S., Garcia, M. H., and Bock, D. (2008). “Turbulent structures in planar gravity currents and their influence on the flow dynamics.” J. Geophys. Res., 113(C08018), 1–22.
Cantero, M. I., Lee, J. R., Balachandar, S., and Garcia, M. H. (2007). “On the front velocity of gravity currents.” J. Fluid Mech., 586, 1–39.
Chan, L., MacDonald, M., Chung, D., Hutchins, N., and Ooi, A. (2015). “A systematic investigation of roughness height and wavelength in turbulent pipe flow in the transitionally rough regime.” J. Fluid Mech., 771, 743–777.
Coleman, N. L. (1981). “Velocity profile with suspended sediment.” J. Hydraul. Res., 19(3), 211–229.
Colombini, M. (1993). “Turbulence-driven secondary flows and formation of sand ridges.” J. Fluid Mech., 254, 701–719.
Constantinescu, G., and Balaras, E. (2014). “LES of shallow mixing interfaces: A review.” Environ. Fluid Mech., 14(5), 971–996.
Dallali, M., and Armenio, V. (2015). “Large eddy simulation of two-way coupling sediment transport.” Adv. Water Resour., 81, 33–44.
De Marchis, M. (2016). “Large eddy simulations of roughened channel flows: Estimation of the energy losses using the slope of the roughness.” Comput. Fluids, 140, 148–157.
De Marchis, M., Milici, B., and Napoli, E. (2015). “Numerical observations of turbulence structure modification in channel flow over 2D and 3D rough walls.” Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow, 56, 108–123.
De Marchis, M., Napoli, E., and Armenio, V. (2010). “Turbulence structures over irregular rough surfaces.” J. Turbul., 11, N3.
Falcomer, L., and Armenio, V. (2002). “Large-eddy simulation of secondary flows over longitudinally ridged walls.” J. Turbul., 3, N8.
Ferry, J., and Balachandar, S. (2001). “A fast Eulerian method for disperse two-phase flow.” Int. J. Multiphase Flows, 27(7), 1199–1226.
Flack, K., Schultz, M., and Rose, W. (2012). “The onset of the roughness effects in transitionally rough regime.” Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow, 35, 160–167.
Germano, M., Piomelli, U., Moin, P., and Cabot, W. H. (1991). “A dynamic subgrid-scale eddy viscosity model.” Phys. Fluids A, 3(7), 1760–1765.
Hartel, C., Meiburg, E., and Necker, F. (2000). “Analysis and direct numerical simulation of the flow at a gravity-current head. Part 1: Flow topology and front speed for slip and no-slip boundaries.” J. Fluid Mech., 418, 189–212.
Inghilesi, R., Stocca, V., Roman, F., and Armenio, V. (2008). “Dispersion of a vertical jet of buoyant particles in a stably stratified wind-driven Ekman layer.” Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow, 29(3), 733–742.
Jiménez, J. (2004). “Turbulent flows over rough walls.” Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech., 36, 173–196.
Jourabian, M., and Armenio, V. (2016). “Large eddy simulation (LES) of suspended sediment transport (SST) at a laboratory scale.” 26th Annual Int. Ocean and Polar Engineering Conf., International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineering, Mountain View, CA.
Kawamura, H., and Sumori, T. (1999). “DNS of turbulent flow in a channel with longitudinally ridged walls.” Proc., Direct and Large-Eddy Simulation III, P. R. Voke, N. D. Sandham, and L. Kleiser, eds., Kluwer, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
Koken, M., and Constantinescu, G. (2008a). “An investigation of the flow and scour mechanisms around isolated spur dikes in a shallow open channel. 1: Conditions corresponding to the initiation of the erosion and deposition process.” Water Res. Res., 44(8), W08406.
Koken, M., and Constantinescu, G. (2008b). “An investigation of the flow and scour mechanisms around isolated spur dikes in a shallow open channel. 2: Conditions corresponding to the final stages of the erosion and deposition process.” Water Res. Res., 44(8), W08407.
Kraft, S., Wang, Y., and Oberlackl, M. (2011). “Large eddy simulation of sediment deformation in a turbulent flow by means of level-set method.” J Hydraul. Eng., 1394–1405.
Kuerten, J. G. M. (2006). “Subgrid modelling in particle-laden channel flow.” Phys. Fluids, 18(2), 025108.
Mahesh, K. S., Constantinescu, G., and Moin, P. (2004). “A numerical method for large eddy simulation in complex geometries.” J. Comp. Phys., 197(1), 215–240.
Marchioli, C., Armenio, V., Salvetti, M. V., and Soldati, A. (2006). “Mechanisms for deposition and resuspension of heavy particles in turbulent flow over wavy interfaces.” Phys. Fluids, 18(2), 025102.
Mejia-Alvarez, R., and Christensen, K. (2013). “Wall-parallel stereo particle-image velocimetry measurements in the roughness sublayer of turbulent flow overlying highly irregular roughness.” Phys. Fluids, 25(11), 115109.
Muste, M., and Patel, V. C. (1997). “Velocity profiles for particles and liquid in open-channel flow with suspended sediment.” J Hydraul. Eng., 742–751.
Napoli, E., Armenio, V., and De Marchis, M. (2008). “The effect of the slope of irregularly distributed roughness elements on turbulent wall-bounded flows.” J. Fluid Mech., 613, 385–394.
Nezu, I., and Nakagawa, H. (1984). “Cellular secondary currents in straight conduit.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 173–193.
Omidyeganeh, M., and Piomelli, U. (2013a). “Large-eddy simulation of three-dimensional dunes in a steady, unidirectional flow. Part 1: Turbulent statistics.” J. Fluid Mech., 721, 454–483.
Omidyeganeh, M., and Piomelli, U. (2013b). “Large-eddy simulation of three-dimensional dunes in a steady, unidirectional flow. Part 2: Flow structures.” J. Fluid Mech., 734, 509–534.
Ooi, S. K., Constantinescu, G., and Weber, L. (2009). “Numerical simulations of lock-exchange compositional gravity current.” J. Fluid Mech., 635, 361–388.
Ottolenghi, L., Adduce, C., Inghilesi, R., Armenio, V., and Roman, F. (2016a). “Entrainment and mixing in unsteady gravity currents.” J. Hydraul. Res., 54(5), 541–557.
Ottolenghi, L., Adduce, C., Inghilesi, R., Roman, F., and Armenio, V. (2016b). “Mixing in lock-release gravity currents propagating up a slope.” Phys. Fluids, 28(5), 056604.
Piomelli, U., and Balaras, E. (2002). “Wall-layer models for large-eddy simulations.” Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech., 34(1), 349–374.
Radice, A., Nikora, V., Campagnol, J., and Ballio, F. (2013). “Active interactions between turbulence and bed load: Conceptual picture and experimental evidence.” Water Resour. Res., 49(1), 90–99.
Rodi, W., Constantinescu, G., and Stoesser, C. (2013). “Large eddy simulation in hydraulics.” IAHR monograph, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 310.
Saha, S. C. J. K., Ooi, A., and Blackburn, H. (2015). “On scaling pipe flows with sinusoidal transversely corrugated walls: Analysis of data from laminar to the low-Reynolds-number turbulent regime.” J. Fluid Mech., 779, 245–274.
Salvetti, M. V., and Banerjee, S. (1995). “A priori tests of a new dynamic subgrid scale model for finite-difference large-eddy simulations.” Phys. Fluids, 7(11), 2831–2847.
Sarkar, S., and Armenio, V. (2013). “Direct and large eddy simulation of environmental flows.” Handbook of environmental fluid mechanics, systems, pollution, modeling and measurements, H. J. S. Fernando, ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 283–300.
Schultz, M., and Flack, K. (2009). “Turbulent boundary layers on a systematically varied rough wall.” Phys. Fluids, 21, 1–21.
Smith, J., and Mclean, S. (1977). “Spatially averaged flow over a wavy surface.” J. Geophys. Res., 82(12), 1735–1746.
Spalart, P. (2009). “Detached-eddy simulation.” Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech., 41, 181–202.
Spalart, P. R., Jou, W. H., Strelets, M., and Allmaras, S. R. (1997). “Comments on the feasibility of LES for wings and on a hybrid RANS/LES approach.” Advances in DNS/LES, C. Liu and Z. Liu, eds., Greyden, Columbus, OH, 137–48.
Stoesser, T. (2010). “Physically realistic roughness closure scheme to simulate turbulent channel flow over rough beds within the framework of LES.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 136(10), 812–819.
Stoesser, T., McSherry, R., and Fraga, B. (2015). “Secondary currents and turbulence over a non-uniformly roughened open-channel bed.” Water, 7(9), 4896–4913.
Teruzzi, A., Ballio, F., and Armenio, V. (2009). “Turbulent stresses at the bottom surface near an abutment: Laboratory-scale numerical experiment.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 106–117.
Tokyay, T., and Constantinescu, G. (2015). “The effects of a submerged non-erodible triangular obstacle on bottom propagating gravity currents.” Phys. Fluids, 27(5), 056601.
Tokyay, T., Constantinescu, G., and Meiburg, E. (2011). “Lock-exchange gravity currents with a high volume of release propagating over a periodic array of obstacles.” J. Fluid Mech., 672, 570–605.
Tokyay, T., Constantinescu, G., and Meiburg, E. (2012). “Tail structure and bed friction velocity distribution of gravity currents propagating over an array of obstacles.” J. Fluid Mech., 694, 252–291.
van Aartrijk, M., and Clercx, H. J. H. (2010). “The dynamics of small inertial particles in weakly stratified turbulence.” J. Hydro-Environ. Res., 4(2), 103–114.
van Nimwegen, A., Schutte, K., and Portela, L. (2015). “Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow in pipes with an arbitrary roughness topography using a combined momentum-mass source immersed boundary method.” Comput. Fluids, 108(15), 92–106.
Vanoni, V. A. ed., (2001). “Transportation of suspended sediment by water.” Trans. Am. Soc. Civil Eng., 111, 67–133.
Vowinckel, B., Jain, R., Kempe, T., and Fröhlich, J. (2016). “Entrainment of single particles in a turbulent open-channel flow: A numerical study.” J. Hydraul. Res., 54(2), 158–171.
Vowinckel, B., Kempe, T., and Fröhlich, J. (2014). “Fluid-particle interaction in turbulent open channel flow with fully-resolved mobile beds.” Adv. Water Resour., 72, 32–44.
Wang, Z.-Q., and Chen, N.-S. (2006). “Time-mean structure of secondary flows in open channel with longitudinal bedforms.” Adv. Water Resour., 29(11), 1634–1649.
Yuan, J., and Piomelli, U. (2014). “Estimation and prediction of the roughness function on realistic surfaces.” J. Turbul., 15(6), 350–365.
Zang, J., Street, R. L., and Koseff, J. R. (1994). “A non-staggered grid, fractional step method for time-dependent incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in curvilinear coordinates.” J. Comput. Phys., 114(1), 18–33.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 11 • November 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 1, 2016
Accepted: Apr 14, 2017
Published online: Sep 12, 2017
Published in print: Nov 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Feb 12, 2018
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.