ALBERT

Description: Very shallow lagoons that are a few centimeters deep are common in the arid Andes of Northern Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Perú. The dynamics of these lagoons are dominated by the water–sediment interface (WSI) and strong afternoon winds. Although many studies have examined the diffusional mass transfer coefficients ( k t ) of open channel flows, estimates for wind-induced flows are still unknown. The aim of this article is to propose and validate an analytical expression for computing k t at the WSI for wind-induced flow. The laboratory measurements were conducted in a wind tunnel with a water tank of variable depth located at its downwind end. Natural muddy sediments were placed in the middle of the tank so that the dissolved oxygen (DO) was consumed in the sediments. The diffusional mass transfer coefficient that characterizes the DO uptake in the sediment was obtained from DO micro-profiles measured with an OX-25 Unisense microelectrode. Water velocity profiles were measured with a 2D side-view Sontek acoustic doppler velocimetry (ADV), and the wind shear velocity was computed based on wind velocity profiles that were measured with an Extech hot-wire anemometer. A total of 16 experiments were conducted with different water depths and wind shear stresses. The constants required by the model were determined from these experiments, and the analytical expression was successfully validated by the laboratory observations. The analytical expression obtained for computing k t was also validated with field observations that were conducted in October, 2012, in Salar del Huasco, Northern Chile (20.274° S, 68.883° W, 3800 m above sea level). The comparison between the observed and predicted values of k t provides a determination coefficient of r 2  = 0.48 and a p value 〈 0.01. The results show that the value of k t for wind-induced flow is proportional to the wind shear velocity and the inverse of the Reynolds number of the wind-induced current.

Description: The motion of bedload particles is diffusive and occurs within at least three scale ranges: local, intermediate and global, each of which with a distinctly different diffusion regime. However, these regimes, extensions of the scale ranges and boundaries between them remain to be better defined and quantified. These issues are explored using a Lagrangian model of saltating grains over the uniform fixed bed. The model combines deterministic particle motion dynamics with stochastic characteristics such as probability distributions of step lengths and resting times. Specifically, it is proposed that a memoryless exponential distribution is an appropriate model for the distribution of rest periods while the probability that a particle stops after a current jump follows a binomial distribution, which is a distribution with lack of memory as well. These distributions are incorporated in the deterministic Lagrangian model of saltating grains and extensive numerical simulations are conducted for the identification of the diffusive behavior of particles at different time scales. Based on the simulations and physical considerations, the local, intermediate, and global scale ranges are quantified and the transitions from one range to another are studied for a spectrum of motion parameters. The obtained results demonstrate that two different time scales should be considered for parameterization of diffusive behavior within intermediate and global scale ranges and for defining the local–intermediate and intermediate–global boundaries. The simulations highlight the importance of the distributions of the step lengths and resting times for the identification of the boundaries (or transition intervals) between the scale ranges.

Description: Experimental measurements and numerical simulations are carried out to determine the hydrodynamics induced by suspended canopies of limited width and height for canopies with six different densities and canopy element arrangements and two different upstream velocities. Measurements of velocity are obtained using acoustic Doppler velocimetry and the drag force via a load cell. Numerical simulation results using OpenFOAM agree very well with the experimental data and are used to investigate the generated flow fields in detail. The bulk features of the flow are similar to those of other canopies, including emergent and submerged canopies, but the finite dimensions of the canopy results in flow patterns that differ from suspended canopies of essentially infinite width. The detailed hydrodynamics of the flow are controlled by the blockage of the suspended canopy which depends both on the canopy density and the lateral spacing between consecutive longitudinal rows of canopy elements. Increased flow blockage results in increases in the drag coefficient from 0.72 to 1.4, reduction in the flow rate inside the canopy from 58 to 98 % (of the diverted flow, 20–43 % is diverted below the canopy) and increases in the steady wake zone length from 0.6 to 4 times the canopy length. Flow blockage has relatively little effect on the length of the upstream adjustment and total wake zones at 1.09 and 7 times the canopy length respectively. The flow also depends only weakly on the upstream velocity.

Description: An integrated model is presented for the calculation of the characteristics in the intermediate field region of brine discharges from reverse osmosis desalination plants into unstratified stagnant coastal waters. The model consists of the near field model Modified CorJet Model and the far field model, which are interconnected via a coupling algorithm. This algorithm has been developed to simulate the flow and concentration characteristics of negatively buoyant jets (NBJ) after their impingement on the bottom. The coupling method was developed to be active according to literature, however further work and investigation is needed to be applicable for NBJ discharged into other ambient environments and especially in cases where the background values of ambient flow and concentrations affect the NF values and vice versa. The integrated model was validated with data from the literature as well as with data from experiments conducted in this study showing a good agreement. The coupling algorithm was also compared to other coupling techniques used in the literature for NBJ discharges showing better estimations of the experimental data.

Description: Open channel flows subjected to a longitudinal transition in roughness, from bed friction to emergent cylinder drag and vice versa, are investigated experimentally in an 18-m-long laboratory flume. These are compared to uniform flows subject to (1) bed roughness only and (2) an array of emergent vertical cylinders installed on bed roughness. The near-bed region is investigated in detail for uniform flows through the cylinder array. The water column can be divided into two parts: a region of constant velocity and a boundary layer near the channel bed. In the latter region, a local increase in velocity, or velocity bulge, is observed in line of a cylinder row. The velocity bulge may be related to the disorganization of the von Kármán vortex street by the bed-induced turbulence, resulting in reduced momentum loss in the cylinder wake. The boundary layer height is found to be independent of water depth and bed roughness (smooth or rough bottom). Strong oscillations of the free surface (seiching) are observed. Oscillation amplitude is dependent on the longitudinal position within the cylinder array and is found to decrease with decreasing array length. When water depth/boundary layer height ratio is close to unity, the disorganization of the von Kármán vortex street throughout the water column prevents seiching from occurring. In the case of roughness transition flows, the water depth is found to vary only upstream of the change in roughness. Vertical profiles of velocity and turbulence are self-similar upstream of the transition and collapse with the uniform flow profiles. Downstream of the roughness change, velocity and turbulence vary over a distance of 35–50 times the water depth. Roughness transition flows show that seiching is lowered by flow non-uniformity. A 1D momentum equation integrating bed friction and drag force exerted by the cylinder array predicts accurately the water surface profile (0.9 % mean relative error). The computed profiles show that upstream of the transition, flow depth varies over a distance of about 2600 times the uniform water depth of the upstream roughness. The 1D equation is solved analytically for zero bed friction.

Description: The flow structure in the aerated region of the roller generated by breaking waves remains a great challenge to study, with large quantities of entrained air and turbulence interactions making it very difficult to investigate in details. A number of analogies were proposed between breaking waves in deep or shallow water, tidal bores and hydraulic jumps. Many numerical models used to simulate waves in the surf zone do not implicitly simulate the breaking process of the waves, but are required to parameterise the wave-breaking effects, thus relying on experimental data. Analogies are also assumed to quantify the roller dynamics and the energy dissipation. The scope of this paper is to review the different analogies proposed in the literature and to discuss current practices. A thorough survey is offered and a discussion is developed an aimed at improving the use of possible breaking proxies. The most recent data are revisited and scrutinised for the use of most advanced numerical models to educe the surf zone hydrodynamics. In particular, the roller dynamics and geometrical characteristics are discussed. An open discussion is proposed to explore the actual practices and propose perspectives based on the most appropriate analogy, namely the tidal bore.

Description: Direct Numerical Simulations are employed to investigate the mixing dynamics of turbidity currents interacting with seamounts of various heights. The mixing properties are found to be governed by the competing effects of turbulence amplification and enhanced dissipation due to the three-dimensional topography. In addition, particle settling is seen to play an important role as well, as it affects the local density stratification, and hence the stability, of the current. The interplay of these different mechanisms results in the non-monotonic dependence of the mixing behavior on the height of the seamount. Regions of dilute lock fluid concentration generally mix more intensely as a result of the seafloor topography, while concentrated lock fluid remains relatively unaffected. For long times, the strongest mixing occurs for intermediate bump heights. Particle settling is seen to cause turbidity currents to mix more intensely with the ambient than gravity currents.

Description: At the smallest scales of sediment transport in rivers, the coherent structures of the turbulent boundary layer constitute the fundamental mechanisms of bedload transport, locally increasing the instantaneous hydrodynamic forces acting on sediment particles, and mobilizing them downstream. Near the critical threshold for initiating sediment motion, the interactions of the particles with these unsteady coherent structures and with other sediment grains, produce localized transport events with brief episodes of collective motion occurring due to the near-bed velocity fluctuations. Simulations of these flows pose a significant challenge for numerical models aimed at capturing the physical processes and complex non-linear interactions that generate highly intermittent and self-similar bedload transport fluxes. In this investigation we carry out direct numerical simulations of the flow in a rectangular flat-bed channel, at a Reynolds number equal to Re  = 3632, coupled with the discrete element method to simulate the dynamics of spherical particles near the bed. We perform two-way coupled Lagrangian simulations of 48,510 sediment particles, with 4851 fixed particles to account for bed roughness. Our simulations consider a total of eight different values of the non-dimensional Shields parameter to study the evolution of transport statistics. From the trajectory and velocity of each sediment particle, we compute the changes in the probability distribution functions of velocities, bed activity, and jump lengths as the Shields number increases. For the lower shear stresses, the intermittency of the global bedload transport flux is described by computing the singularity or multifr actal spectrum of transport, which also characterizes the widespread range of transport event magnitudes. These findings can help to identify the mechanisms of sediment transport at the particle scale. The statistical analysis can also be used as an ingredient to develop larger, upscaled models for predicting mean transport rates, considering the variability of entrainment and deposition that characterizes the transport near the threshold of motion.

Description: To determine the feasibility of using a dam-break generated flow from the sea into a storm-drain to aid in the regeneration of iron particles that control the production of H 2 S in the storm-drain, a laboratory experimental investigation is carried out to measure the regeneration potential and the detailed hydrodynamics of the dam-break generated flow that causes the regeneration. The experiments are carried out using a reservoir of essentially infinite size, the sea, and a channel of limited width and adverse slope 1:20, the storm-drain. The regeneration experiments confirmed the ability of the dam-break generated flow to aid in the regeneration of the iron particles, however the regeneration potential varies from good to poor with distance away from the gate into the channel. The detailed measurements of the hydrodynamics highlighted that the dam-break generated flow from an infinite reservoir diverges little during the first uprush, has much smaller velocities during the first backwash and includes significant free surface waves. An initially wet channel bed reduces the flux into the channel. Close to the gate the flow depth increases more quickly but the velocity, and therefore the regeneration potential, is smaller.

Description: In this work we address the mean flow and turbulence statistics in the non-aerated region of a stepped spillway by using two different numerical strategies in two dimensions. First, we present results regarding the flow in a large portion of the spillway, simulated with a volume of fluid (VoF) method to capture the position of the free surface (case A). Numerically-obtained data are in very good agreement with particle image velocimetry (PIV) data; further, results suggest that profiles of mean velocity, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and dissipation rate of TKE at the step edges are approximately self - similar . It was also found that values of TKE and dissipation rate of TKE in the boundary layer development region follow universal similarity laws which are valid for open-channel flows. In addition, the field of simulated dimensionless pressure and pressure distributions at the step edges are qualitatively similar to those reported in a recent experimental work. Second, additional simulations were developed as a pressure-driven flow for only a portion of the spillway (case B). This was possible due to prior knowledge of the water depths. We show that, despite the fact that the pressure field can not be interpreted as in case A, the numerical simulations closely reproduce the experimental data regarding averaged velocity, vorticity, and the turbulence statistics. It was also found that turbulence intensity profiles in the intermediate region are consistent with published experimental results for open-channel flows. These numerical results offer new avenues for the simulation of portions of stepped spillways to assess the physics at the inception point of air entrainment with more sophisticated turbulence closures.