Simulation of three-dimension side discharge into an open channel

A three-dimensional computational model, solving Reynolds equations with the ke turbulence closure, has been presented to simulate the flow field in an open channel near a side-discharge channel. The purpose of this study was to exam this model's applicability for simulating the three-dimensional recirculation velocity field in the vicinity of the side discharge channel. The numerical simulations show that both the height and length of the recirculation zone were correctly predicted when compared with laboratory measurements. The predicted trend of the shape of the recirculation zone under different flow conditions agrees with experimental data. It was confirmed that the SMART upwinding scheme performs better than QUICK and HYBRID schemes, since it induces less numerical diffusion and no oscillations. It was found in this study that the SMART scheme needs some minor modifications for complex flow computations.