Prediction of the Hydrodynamic Loads on a Full-Scale Caisson at High Reynolds Number
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 6
Abstract
The paper reports on the computation of the hydrodynamic loads on a full-scale caisson at high Reynolds number in the presence of vortex shedding. The objective was to obtain reliable predictions of the resulting mean and fluctuating forces to guide the design of an actual caisson in the absence of relevant experimental data. A further objective was to investigate the effectiveness of alternative methods for the control of vortex shedding that can be implemented in practice. Two such methods were evaluated: (1) by rounding the corners of the rectangular-sectioned caisson, and (2) by the placement of a splitter plate in the separated wake region. The computations, which were performed using the OpenFOAM open-source software, were for a fixed caisson and hence did not account for motions due to vortex-induced vibrations. The effects of turbulence were accounted for by performing large-eddy simulations, and by using two-equation eddy-viscosity closures, one of which was specifically adapted to account for the interactions between the periodic vortex shedding and the random turbulence. The numerical accuracy was checked using the grid convergence index method, and the computations were extensively validated against data from relevant benchmark flows. The recommendations of this research were implemented in the design of a full-scale caisson that has since been deployed in a bridge construction project.
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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.
Acknowledgments
The financial support provided by the National Science Foundation of PR China (51208056), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities CHD (300102212909), and the Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi Province (2023-JC-YB-292) is gratefully acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 6 • June 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 11, 2022
Accepted: Jan 30, 2023
Published online: Apr 12, 2023
Published in print: Jun 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Sep 12, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Caissons
- Coastal engineering
- Coastal processes
- Coasts, oceans, ports, and waterways engineering
- Computing in civil engineering
- Design (by type)
- Eddy (fluid dynamics)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Fluid dynamics
- Fluid mechanics
- Foundations
- Geotechnical engineering
- Hydrodynamics
- Hydrologic engineering
- Load factors
- Ocean currents
- Reynolds number
- Structural design
- Turbulence
- Vortex shedding
- Vortices
- Water and water resources
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