Simulation of open channel flow or river flow presents unique challenge to numerical simulators, which is widely used in the applications of computational fluid dynamics. The prediction is extremely difficult because the flow in open channel is usually transient and turbulent, the geometry is irregular and curved, and the free-surface elevation is varying with time.
The results from a 3D non-linear k– ɛ turbulence model are presented to investigate the flow structure, the velocity distribution and mass transport process in a meandering compound open channel and a straight open channel. The 3D numerical model for calculating flow is set up in cylinder coordinates in order to calculate the complex boundary channel. The finite volume method is used to disperse the governing equations and the SIMPLE algorithm is applied to acquire the coupling of velocity and pressure. The non-linear k– ɛ turbulent model has good useful value because of taking into account the anisotropy and not increasing the computational time.
The main contributions of this study are developing a numerical method that can be applied to predict the flow in river bends with various bend curvatures and different width-depth ratios.
This study demonstrates that the 3D non-linear k– ɛ turbulence model can be used for analyzing flow structures, the velocity distribution and pollutant transport in the complex boundary open channel, this model is applicable for real river and wetland problem.
