Three-dimensional hydrodynamic model of concrete tetrahedral frame revetments

Abstract

Revetments of concrete frame tetrahedrons are being used more and more in river engineering in China. Due to their complex geometry, it is difficult to measure the velocity fields inside them using traditional measurement methods. This limits understanding of their mechanics, potentially leading to suboptimal solutions. A 3-D hydrodynamic model based on the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, Fluent, was developed to predict velocity fields and drags. The realizable k-ɛ model was adopted for turbulent closure of the Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations. The study demonstrates that the numerical model can effectively supplement experimental studies in understanding the complex flow fields and mechanics of concrete frame tetrahedron revetments. Graphs showing the drag coefficient C _D versus Reynolds number Re and lift coefficient C _L versus Reynolds number Re were produced.

Keywords

concrete frame tetrahedrons / numerical simulation / drag / lift