Flow modeling and bank erosion downstream due to spillway discharge : Independent thesis Advanced level (professional degree) 30 ECTS credits

Sammanfattning

Dam spillways and downstream areas are used to guide large flows of water during for example heavy rainfall. The large flows give way to turbulent pattern sand velocities that may damage the river banks or the dam structure. Investigation of these water patterns at certain flows are therefore done to examine at risk areas. In this study CFD simulations were performed for different flows with different boundary conditions for varying surface roughness level. Results were then compared to a previous model study from 2009. The ANSYS ecosystem was used in production of the 3D model, construction of mesh and running of simulations.The flow for the maximum discharge capacity of the sluices was simulated as well as the design flow which is the highest flow the dam is supposed to be able to withstand. In this report the flow has been modeled using RANS with the SST kω-model in a VOF transient setup. Results showed that for both the design flow and the maximum discharge capacity flow the energy conversion is functioning poorly and that a considerable backward circulation exists on the right riverside. This behavior could possibly injure the right dam structure by moving debris upwards against the stream.