Impact of T-Splitter on the Laminar Flow Field around Cylinder Pier

The hydrodynamic pattern, which surrounds the pier near a splitter that has T-shape, is investigated by adopting a numerical method and using ANSYS Fluent Software to achieve computation. The essential objective of this paper refers to revealing the behavior of the hydrodynamic field around the pier due to the existence of the upstream splitter plate. The T-splitter plate has not been used in previous works for controlling the flow field around the cylinder body. The main assumptions adopted in solving the hydrodynamic problem are incompressible, steady, and laminar flow. Reynolds number values are taken from 40 to 200 to guarantee laminar flow with laminar vortex street. The numerical investigation focuses on two main variables. These variables are the horizontal distance between the rear portion of a splitter and the pier center and bubble length. The numerical study comprises pressure contours, water velocity contours, and streamlines. Results reveal that bubbles are generated and developed due to the existence of the splitter. Four bubbles are generated, two of them are formed in the region between the splitter rear portion and pier leading portion and the other two bubbles are formed at the cylindrical pier wake region. The size and length of these four bubbles are dominated by the Reynolds number, these bubbles are non-symmetrical. It is revealed from the solution that with the rise in Reynolds number values then the disturbance will be increased simultaneously. The horizontal distance dominates the hydraulic response, which is described by the streamlines, pressure contours, and water flow contours. Furthermore, the Reynolds number has a significant influence on the pressure contours, water flow contours, and streamlines. Finally, a correlation equation is derived relying on bubble length, horizontal distance, and Reynolds number.