Numerical and experimental investigation of a gully under surcharge conditions

Abstract

This paper deals with numerical and experimental investigation of a gully under exceptional situations after the sewer system becomes pressurized. These results are useful for the calibration and validation of the linking elements found in Dual Drainage (DD) models. The experimental results were obtained in the MLE (Multiple-Linking-Element) experimental installation that allows the simulation of full surcharge flow through a gully. The installation consists of an 8 m long and 0.5 m wide channel, fitted with a 0.6 × 0.3 × 0.3 m gully with a 80 mm diameter pipe inlet at the bottom. The numerical results were obtained using a three-dimensional structured mesh simulated in the OpenFOAM TM Toolbox. The results characterization focuses mainly on the jet area, whereby pressure-flow relations were derived for this specific gully. The good agreement found between numerical and experimental results, allowed the extrapolation to larger flow rates.