Free-surface Flow Interface And Air-Entrainment Modelling Using OpenFOAM

Abstract

The use of hydraulic structures to control flooding has a history of long practice within civil engineering infrastructure. Hydraulic structures under turbulent flow conditions frequently involve free surface fl ow and interactions between air and water. This can be observed in different kinds of structures, e.g. gullies, manholes or stepped spillways. In this doctoral program, Computational Fluid Dynamics numerical models will be used to simulate flood control devices and the results validated using real scale physical models. The challenge in numerical prediction of air mixed with water is the main motivation for this study. The focus of this work is primarily the air-water interaction and a revision of the numerical models able to capture it. The interFoam solver available in the OpenFOAM Toolbox is chosen as the starting point of this study because it is open-source and widely used to numerically simulate such phenomena. This solver will be thoroughly investigated and some simulations involving air and water will be presented.