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Simulation of exchange flow between open water and floating vegetation using a modified RNG k-ε turbulence model

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Abstract

The paper focuses on the numerical simulation of the exchange flow between open water and floating vegetation, which plays an important role in maintaining the ecological balance by transporting nutrient matter. The simulation was conducted using a new solver developed upon OpenFOAM. A modified RNG k-ε turbulence model, which is expected to model both the high- and low-Reynolds number flows correctly, was used to determine the eddy viscosity. Several particular terms were added into the momentum equations and turbulence model equations to model the effects of vegetation and buoyancy. Among these terms, the term for the effect of vegetation in the ε-equation was re-modelled. The model was validated by properly predicting the profiles of mean velocity and turbulent kinetic energy for flows through suspended canopies. The density flow between open and vegetated water was simulated with the same conditions as those of the experiment conducted by Zhang and Nepf. The predicted results agreed well with the experimental data and provided more detailed information of such exchange flow. The convection between the root layer and the layer beneath the roots, which was not observed in the experiment, was observed in the numerical simulation.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51279079 and No. 51323014), National Science and Technology Support Project of China (No. 2015BAB07B09), and Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program (No. 2014z09112).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Zhaowei Liu, Yongcan Chen, Yongyan Wu & Ling Li

  2. Beijing Engineering Corporation Limited, Beijing, 100024, China

    Wenyong Wang

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  1. Zhaowei Liu
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  2. Yongcan Chen
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  3. Yongyan Wu
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  4. Wenyong Wang
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  5. Ling Li
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Correspondence to Zhaowei Liu.

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Liu, Z., Chen, Y., Wu, Y. et al. Simulation of exchange flow between open water and floating vegetation using a modified RNG k-ε turbulence model. Environ Fluid Mech 17, 355–372 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-016-9489-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-016-9489-5

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