3D Numerical Modeling of the Turbulent Flow in Hydraulic Structures

Prototype-scale hydrodynamic modelings were first conducted to evaluate the structure design of the Calumet High-Level Influent Pumping Station (CHLIPS). The complex geometries were discretized into unstructured tetrahedral meshes. A FEM flow solver was used with the k-epsilon model as the turbulence closure. The rigid-lid assumption was employed to simplify the modeling of the water surface. The MPI parallization of the code and the utilization of high-performance supercomputers made the resulting intensive computation feasible. The flow in CHLIPS's pump forebay was first evaluated to identify undesirable flow behaviors which could endanger the station's normal operation. Geometrical modifications were correspondingly recommended to improve the design. The modeling for the entire CHLIPS structure was then focused on evaluating the balance of flow distribution among the screen channels and the wet wells. The flow solver was further enhanced to provide the capability of capturing oscillating free surfaces. Level set method was coupled with the k-epsilon model to track the evolution of the water surface. Numerical algorithms were devised to deal with problems caused by the significant differences in fluid properties between water and air. The model was finally applied to study the flow in the pump forebay of the CHLIPS physical model. A comparison between numerical results and experimental measurements shows the flow characteristics are satisfactorily predicted by the model.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Yang, Xuejun

Contributors dc:contributor

• Garcia, Marcelo H.

• Engineering, Civil

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3270057

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/83332