Tag: Flow pattern

2.1. Physiological Blood Flow Behavior

Blood, an essential physiological fluid in the human body, serves the vital role of transporting oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Additionally, blood is responsible for suspending various blood cells including erythrocytes (red blood cells or RBCs), leukocytes (white blood cells), and thrombocytes (blood platelets) in a plasma medium.Among the cells mentioned above, red blood cells (RBCs) comprise approximately 40–45% of the volume of healthy blood.

(7) An RBC possesses an inherent elastic property with a biconcave shape of an average diameter of 8 μm and a thickness of 2 μm. This biconcave shape maximizes the surface-to-volume ratio, allowing RBCs to endure significant distortion while maintaining their functionality.

(8,9) Additionally, the biconcave shape optimizes gas exchange, facilitating efficient uptake of oxygen due to the increased surface area. The inherent elasticity of RBCs allows them to undergo substantial distortion from their original biconcave shape and exhibits high flexibility, particularly in narrow channels.RBC deformability enables the cell to deform from a biconcave shape to a parachute-like configuration, despite minor differences in RBC shape dynamics under shear flow between initial cell locations. As shown in Figure 1(a), RBCs initiating with different resting shapes and orientations displaying display a similar deformation pattern

(10) in terms of its shape. Shear flow induces an inward bending of the cell at the rear position of the rim to the final bending position,

(11) resulting in an alignment toward the same position of the flow direction.

Figure 1. Images of varying deformation of RBCs and different dynamic blood flow behaviors. (a) The deforming shape behavior of RBCs at four different initiating positions under the same experimental conditions of a flow from left to right, (10) (b) RBC aggregation, (13) (c) CFL region. (18) Reproduced with permission from ref (10). Copyright 2011 Elsevier. Reproduced with permission from ref (13). Copyright 2022 The Authors, under the terms of the Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0) License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Reproduced with permission from ref (18). Copyright 2019 Elsevier.

The flexible property of RBCs enables them to navigate through narrow capillaries and traverse a complex network of blood vessels. The deformability of RBCs depends on various factors, including the channel geometry, RBC concentration, and the elastic properties of the RBC membrane.

(12) Both flexibility and deformability are vital in the process of oxygen exchange among blood and tissues throughout the body, allowing cells to flow in vessels even smaller than the original cell size prior to deforming.As RBCs serve as major components in blood, their collective dynamics also hugely affect blood rheology. RBCs exhibit an aggregation phenomenon due to cell to cell interactions, such as adhesion forces, among populated cells, inducing unique blood flow patterns and rheological behaviors in microfluidic systems. For blood flow in large vessels between a diameter of 1 and 3 cm, where shear rates are not high, a constant viscosity and Newtonian behavior for blood can be assumed. However, under low shear rate conditions (0.1 s

^–1) in smaller vessels such as the arteries and venules, which are within a diameter of 0.2 mm to 1 cm, blood exhibits non-Newtonian properties, such as shear-thinning viscosity and viscoelasticity due to RBC aggregation and deformability. The nonlinear viscoelastic property of blood gives rise to a complex relationship between viscosity and shear rate, primarily influenced by the highly elastic behavior of RBCs. A wide range of research on the transient behavior of the RBC shape and aggregation characteristics under varied flow circumstances has been conducted, aiming to obtain a better understanding of the interaction between blood flow shear forces from confined flows.

For a better understanding of the unique blood flow structures and rheological behaviors in microfluidic systems, some blood flow patterns are introduced in the following section.

2.1.1. RBC Aggregation

RBC aggregation is a vital phenomenon to be considered when designing LOC devices due to its impact on the viscosity of the bulk flow. Under conditions of low shear rate, such as in stagnant or low flow rate regions, RBCs tend to aggregate, forming structures known as rouleaux, resembling stacks of coins as shown in Figure 1(b).

(13) The aggregation of RBCs increases the viscosity at the aggregated region,

(14) hence slowing down the overall blood flow. However, when exposed to high shear rates, RBC aggregates disaggregate. As shear rates continue to increase, RBCs tend to deform, elongating and aligning themselves with the direction of the flow.

(15) Such a dynamic shift in behavior from the cells in response to the shear rate forms the basis of the viscoelastic properties observed in whole blood. In essence, the viscosity of the blood varies according to the shear rate conditions, which are related to the velocity gradient of the system. It is significant to take the intricate relationship between shear rate conditions and the change of blood viscosity due to RBC aggregation into account since various flow driving conditions may induce varied effects on the degree of aggregation.

2.1.2. Fåhræus-Lindqvist Effect

The Fåhræus–Lindqvist (FL) effect describes the gradual decrease in the apparent viscosity of blood as the channel diameter decreases.

(16) This effect is attributed to the migration of RBCs toward the central region in the microchannel, where the flow rate is higher, due to the presence of higher pressure and asymmetric distribution of shear forces. This migration of RBCs, typically observed at blood vessels less than 0.3 mm, toward the higher flow rate region contributes to the change in blood viscosity, which becomes dependent on the channel size. Simultaneously, the increase of the RBC concentration in the central region of the microchannel results in the formation of a less viscous region close to the microchannel wall. This region called the Cell-Free Layer (CFL), is primarily composed of plasma.

(17) The combination of the FL effect and the following CFL formation provides a unique phenomenon that is often utilized in passive and active plasma separation mechanisms, involving branched and constriction channels for various applications in plasma separation using microfluidic systems.

2.1.3. Cell-Free Layer Formation

In microfluidic blood flow, RBCs form aggregates at the microchannel core and result in a region that is mostly devoid of RBCs near the microchannel walls, as shown in Figure 1(c).

(18) The region is known as the cell-free layer (CFL). The CFL region is often known to possess a lower viscosity compared to other regions within the blood flow due to the lower viscosity value of plasma when compared to that of the aggregated RBCs. Therefore, a thicker CFL region composed of plasma correlates to a reduced apparent whole blood viscosity.

(19) A thicker CFL region is often established following the RBC aggregation at the microchannel core under conditions of decreasing the tube diameter. Apart from the dependence on the RBC concentration in the microchannel core, the CFL thickness is also affected by the volume concentration of RBCs, or hematocrit, in whole blood, as well as the deformability of RBCs. Given the influence CFL thickness has on blood flow rheological parameters such as blood flow rate, which is strongly dependent on whole blood viscosity, investigating CFL thickness under shear flow is crucial for LOC systems accounting for blood flow.

2.1.4. Plasma Skimming in Bifurcation Networks

The uneven arrangement of RBCs in bifurcating microchannels, commonly termed skimming bifurcation, arises from the axial migration of RBCs within flowing streams. This uneven distribution contributes to variations in viscosity across differing sizes of bifurcating channels but offers a stabilizing effect. Notably, higher flow rates in microchannels are associated with increased hematocrit levels, resulting in higher viscosity compared with those with lower flow rates. Parametric investigations on bifurcation angle,

(20) thickness of the CFL,

(21) and RBC dynamics, including aggregation and deformation,

(22) may alter the varying viscosity of blood and its flow behavior within microchannels.

2.2. Modeling on Blood Flow Dynamics

2.2.1. Blood Properties and Mathematical Models of Blood Rheology

Under different shear rate conditions in blood flow, the elastic characteristics and dynamic changes of the RBC induce a complex velocity and stress relationship, resulting in the incompatibility of blood flow characterization through standard presumptions of constant viscosity used for Newtonian fluid flow. Blood flow is categorized as a viscoelastic non-Newtonian fluid flow where constitutive equations governing this type of flow take into consideration the nonlinear viscometric properties of blood. To mathematically characterize the evolving blood viscosity and the relationship between the elasticity of RBC and the shear blood flow, respectively, across space and time of the system, a stress tensor (τ) defined by constitutive models is often coupled in the Navier–Stokes equation to account for the collective impact of the constant dynamic viscosity (η) and the elasticity from RBCs on blood flow.The dynamic viscosity of blood is heavily dependent on the shear stress applied to the cell and various parameters from the blood such as hematocrit value, plasma viscosity, mechanical properties of the RBC membrane, and red blood cell aggregation rate. The apparent blood viscosity is considered convenient for the characterization of the relationship between the evolving blood viscosity and shear rate, which can be defined by Casson’s law, as shown in eq 1.

𝜇=𝜏0𝛾˙+2𝜂𝜏0𝛾˙⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯√+𝜂�=�0�˙+2��0�˙+�

(1)where τ

₀ is the yield stress–stress required to initiate blood flow motion, η is the Casson rheological constant, and γ̇ is the shear rate. The value of Casson’s law parameters under blood with normal hematocrit level can be defined as τ

₀ = 0.0056 Pa and η = 0.0035 Pa·s.

(23) With the known property of blood and Casson’s law parameters, an approximation can be made to the dynamic viscosity under various flow condition domains. The Power Law model is often employed to characterize the dynamic viscosity in relation to the shear rate, since precise solutions exist for specific geometries and flow circumstances, acting as a fundamental standard for definition. The Carreau and Carreau–Yasuda models can be advantageous over the Power Law model due to their ability to evaluate the dynamic viscosity at low to zero shear rate conditions. However, none of the above-mentioned models consider the memory or other elastic behavior of blood and its RBCs. Some other commonly used mathematical models and their constants for the non-Newtonian viscosity property characterization of blood are listed in Table 1 below.

(24−26)Table 1. Comparison of Various Non-Newtonian Models for Blood Viscosity

(24−26)

Model	Non-Newtonian Viscosity	Parameters
Power Law	(2)	n = 0.61, k = 0.42
Carreau	(3)	μ₀ = 0.056 Pa·s, μ_∞ = 0.00345 Pa·s, λ = 3.1736 s, m = 2.406, a = 0.254
Walburn–Schneck	(4)	C₁ = 0.000797 Pa·s, C₂ = 0.0608 Pa·s, C₃ = 0.00499, C₄ = 14.585 g^–1, TPMA = 25 g/L
Carreau–Yasuda	(5)	μ₀ = 0.056 Pa·s, μ_∞ = 0.00345 Pa·s, λ = 1.902 s, n = 0.22, a = 1.25
Quemada	(6)	μ_p = 0.0012 Pa·s, k_∞ = 2.07, k₀ = 4.33, γ̇_c = 1.88 s^–1

The blood rheology is commonly known to be influenced by two key physiological factors, namely, the hematocrit value (H

_t) and the fibrinogen concentration (c

_f), with an average value of 42% and 0.252 gd·L

^–1, respectively. Particularly in low shear conditions, the presence of varying fibrinogen concentrations affects the tendency for aggregation and rouleaux formation, while the occurrence of aggregation is contingent upon specific levels of hematocrit.

(27) The study from Apostolidis et al.

(28) modifies the Casson model through emphasizing its reliance on hematocrit and fibrinogen concentration parameter values, owing to the extensive knowledge of the two physiological blood parameters.The viscoelastic response of blood is heavily dependent on the elasticity of the RBC, which is defined by the relationship between the deformation and stress relaxation from RBCs under a specific location of shear flow as a function of the velocity field. The stress tensor is usually characterized by constitutive equations such as the Upper-Convected Maxwell Model

(29) and the Oldroyd-B model

(30) to track the molecule effects under shear from different driving forces. The prominent non-Newtonian features, such as shear thinning and yield stress, have played a vital role in the characterization of blood rheology, particularly with respect to the evaluation of yield stress under low shear conditions. The nature of stress measurement in blood, typically on the order of 1 mPa, is challenging due to its low magnitude. The occurrence of the CFL complicates the measurement further due to the significant decrease in apparent viscosity near the wall over time and a consequential disparity in viscosity compared to the bulk region.In addition to shear thinning viscosity and yield stress, the formation of aggregation (rouleaux) from RBCs under low shear rates also contributes to the viscoelasticity under transient flow

(31) and thixotropy

(32) of whole blood. Given the difficulty in evaluating viscoelastic behavior of blood under low strain magnitudes and limitations in generalized Newtonian models, the utilization of viscoelastic models is advocated to encompass elasticity and delineate non-shear components within the stress tensor. Extending from the Oldroyd-B model, Anand et al.

(33) developed a viscoelastic model framework for adapting elasticity within blood samples and predicting non-shear stress components. However, to also address the thixotropic effects, the model developed by Horner et al.

(34) serves as a more comprehensive approach than the viscoelastic model from Anand et al. Thixotropy

(32) typically occurs from the structural change of the rouleaux, where low shear rate conditions induce rouleaux formation. Correspondingly, elasticity increases, while elasticity is more representative of the isolated RBCs, under high shear rate conditions. The model of Horner et al.

(34) considers the contribution of rouleaux to shear stress, taking into account factors such as the characteristic time for Brownian aggregation, shear-induced aggregation, and shear-induced breakage. Subsequent advancements in the model from Horner et al. often revolve around refining the three aforementioned key terms for a more substantial characterization of rouleaux dynamics. Notably, this has led to the recently developed mHAWB model

(35) and other model iterations to enhance the accuracy of elastic and viscoelastic contributions to blood rheology, including the recently improved model suggested by Armstrong et al.

(36)

2.2.2. Numerical Methods (FDM, FEM, FVM)

Numerical simulation has become increasingly more significant in analyzing the geometry, boundary layers of flow, and nonlinearity of hyperbolic viscoelastic flow constitutive equations. CFD is a powerful and efficient tool utilizing numerical methods to solve the governing hydrodynamic equations, such as the Navier–Stokes (N–S) equation, continuity equation, and energy conservation equation, for qualitative evaluation of fluid motion dynamics under different parameters. CFD overcomes the challenge of analytically solving nonlinear forms of differential equations by employing numerical methods such as the Finite-Difference Method (FDM), Finite-Element Method (FEM), and Finite-Volume Method (FVM) to discretize and solve the partial differential equations (PDEs), allowing for qualitative reproduction of transport phenomena and experimental observations. Different numerical methods are chosen to cope with various transport systems for optimization of the accuracy of the result and control of error during the discretization process.FDM is a straightforward approach to discretizing PDEs, replacing the continuum representation of equations with a set of finite-difference equations, which is typically applied to structured grids for efficient implementation in CFD programs.

(37) However, FDM is often limited to simple geometries such as rectangular or block-shaped geometries and struggles with curved boundaries. In contrast, FEM divides the fluid domain into small finite grids or elements, approximating PDEs through a local description of physics.

(38) All elements contribute to a large, sparse matrix solver. However, FEM may not always provide accurate results for systems involving significant deformation and aggregation of particles like RBCs due to large distortion of grids.

(39) FVM evaluates PDEs following the conservation laws and discretizes the selected flow domain into small but finite size control volumes, with each grid at the center of a finite volume.

(40) The divergence theorem allows the conversion of volume integrals of PDEs with divergence terms into surface integrals of surface fluxes across cell boundaries. Due to its conservation property, FVM offers efficient outcomes when dealing with PDEs that embody mass, momentum, and energy conservation principles. Furthermore, widely accessible software packages like the OpenFOAM toolbox

(41) include a viscoelastic solver, making it an attractive option for viscoelastic fluid flow modeling.

(42)

2.2.3. Modeling Methods of Blood Flow Dynamics

The complexity in the blood flow simulation arises from deformability and aggregation that RBCs exhibit during their interaction with neighboring cells under different shear rate conditions induced by blood flow. Numerical models coupled with simulation programs have been applied as a groundbreaking method to predict such unique rheological behavior exhibited by RBCs and whole blood. The conventional approach of a single-phase flow simulation is often applied to blood flow simulations within large vessels possessing a moderate shear rate. However, such a method assumes the properties of plasma, RBCs and other cellular components to be evenly distributed as average density and viscosity in blood, resulting in the inability to simulate the mechanical dynamics, such as RBC aggregation under high-shear flow field, inherent in RBCs. To accurately describe the asymmetric distribution of RBC and blood flow, multiphase flow simulation, where numerical simulations of blood flows are often modeled as two immiscible phases, RBCs and blood plasma, is proposed. A common assumption is that RBCs exhibit non-Newtonian behavior while the plasma is treated as a continuous Newtonian phase.Numerous multiphase numerical models have been proposed to simulate the influence of RBCs on blood flow dynamics by different assumptions. In large-scale simulations (above the millimeter range), continuum-based methods are wildly used due to their lower computational demands.

(43) Eulerian multiphase flow simulations offer the solution of a set of conservation equations for each separate phase and couple the phases through common pressure and interphase exchange coefficients. Xu et al.

(44) utilized the combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM) to replicate the dynamic behavior and distortion of RBCs subjected to fluidic forces, utilizing the Johnson–Kendall–Roberts model

(45) to define the adhesive forces of cell-to-cell interactions. The iterative direct-forcing immersed boundary method (IBM) is commonly employed in simulations of the fluid–cell interface of blood. This method effectively captures the intricacies of the thin and flexible RBC membranes within various external flow fields.

(46) The study by Xu et al.

(44) also adopts this approach to bridge the fluid dynamics and RBC deformation through IBM. Yoon and You utilized the Maxwell model to define the viscosity of the RBC membrane.

(47) It was discovered that the Maxwell model could represent the stress relaxation and unloading processes of the cell. Furthermore, the reduced flexibility of an RBC under particular situations such as infection is specified, which was unattainable by the Kelvin–Voigt model

(48) when compared to the Maxwell model in the literature. The Yeoh hyperplastic material model was also adapted to predict the nonlinear elasticity property of RBCs with FEM employed to discretize the RBC membrane using shell-type elements. Gracka et al.

(49) developed a numerical CFD model with a finite-volume parallel solver for multiphase blood flow simulation, where an updated Maxwell viscoelasticity model and a Discrete Phase Model are adopted. In the study, the adapted IBM, based on unstructured grids, simulates the flow behavior and shape change of the RBCs through fluid-structure coupling. It was found that the hybrid Euler–Lagrange (E–L) approach

(50) for the development of the multiphase model offered better results in the simulated CFL region in the microchannels.To study the dynamics of individual behaviors of RBCs and the consequent non-Newtonian blood flow, cell-shape-resolved computational models are often adapted. The use of the boundary integral method has become prevalent in minimizing computational expenses, particularly in the exclusive determination of fluid velocity on the surfaces of RBCs, incorporating the option of employing IBM or particle-based techniques. The cell-shaped-resolved method has enabled an examination of cell to cell interactions within complex ambient or pulsatile flow conditions

(51) surrounding RBC membranes. Recently, Rydquist et al.

(52) have looked to integrate statistical information from macroscale simulations to obtain a comprehensive overview of RBC behavior within the immediate proximity of the flow through introduction of respective models characterizing membrane shape definition, tension, bending stresses of RBC membranes.At a macroscopic scale, continuum models have conventionally been adapted for assessing blood flow dynamics through the application of elasticity theory and fluid dynamics. However, particle-based methods are known for their simplicity and adaptability in modeling complex multiscale fluid structures. Meshless methods, such as the boundary element method (BEM), smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), and dissipative particle dynamics (DPD), are often used in particle-based characterization of RBCs and the surrounding fluid. By representing the fluid as discrete particles, meshless methods provide insights into the status and movement of the multiphase fluid. These methods allow for the investigation of cellular structures and microscopic interactions that affect blood rheology. Non-confronting mesh methods like IBM can also be used to couple a fluid solver such as FEM, FVM, or the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) through membrane representation of RBCs. In comparison to conventional CFD methods, LBM has been viewed as a favorable numerical approach for solving the N–S equations and the simulation of multiphase flows. LBM exhibits the notable advantage of being amenable to high-performance parallel computing environments due to its inherently local dynamics. In contrast to DPD and SPH where RBC membranes are modeled as physically interconnected particles, LBM employs the IBM to account for the deformation dynamics of RBCs

(53,54) under shear flows in complex channel geometries.

(54,55) However, it is essential to acknowledge that the utilization of LBM in simulating RBC flows often entails a significant computational overhead, being a primary challenge in this context. Krüger et al.

(56) proposed utilizing LBM as a fluid solver, IBM to couple the fluid and FEM to compute the response of membranes to deformation under immersed fluids. This approach decouples the fluid and membranes but necessitates significant computational effort due to the requirements of both meshes and particles.Despite the accuracy of current blood flow models, simulating complex conditions remains challenging because of the high computational load and cost. Balachandran Nair et al.

(57) suggested a reduced order model of RBC under the framework of DEM, where the RBC is represented by overlapping constituent rigid spheres. The Morse potential force is adapted to account for the RBC aggregation exhibited by cell to cell interactions among RBCs at different distances. Based upon the IBM, the reduced-order RBC model is adapted to simulate blood flow transport for validation under both single and multiple RBCs with a resolved CFD-DEM solver.

(58) In the resolved CFD-DEM model, particle sizes are larger than the grid size for a more accurate computation of the surrounding flow field. A continuous forcing approach is taken to describe the momentum source of the governing equation prior to discretization, which is different from a Direct Forcing Method (DFM).

(59) As no body-conforming moving mesh is required, the continuous forcing approach offers lower complexity and reduced cost when compared to the DFM. Piquet et al.

(60) highlighted the high complexity of the DFM due to its reliance on calculating an additional immersed boundary flux for the velocity field to ensure its divergence-free condition.The fluid–structure interaction (FSI) method has been advocated to connect the dynamic interplay of RBC membranes and fluid plasma within blood flow such as the coupling of continuum–particle interactions. However, such methodology is generally adapted for anatomical configurations such as arteries

(61,62) and capillaries,

(63) where both the structural components and the fluid domain undergo substantial deformation due to the moving boundaries. Due to the scope of the Review being blood flow simulation within microchannels of LOC devices without deformable boundaries, the Review of the FSI method will not be further carried out.In general, three numerical methods are broadly used: mesh-based, particle-based, and hybrid mesh–particle techniques, based on the spatial scale and the fundamental numerical approach, mesh-based methods tend to neglect the effects of individual particles, assuming a continuum and being efficient in terms of time and cost. However, the particle-based approach highlights more of the microscopic and mesoscopic level, where the influence of individual RBCs is considered. A review from Freund et al.

(64) addressed the three numerical methodologies and their respective modeling approaches of RBC dynamics. Given the complex mechanics and the diverse levels of study concerning numerical simulations of blood and cellular flow, a broad spectrum of numerical methods for blood has been subjected to extensive review.

(64−70) Ye at al.

(65) offered an extensive review of the application of the DPD, SPH, and LBM for numerical simulations of RBC, while Rathnayaka et al.

(67) conducted a review of the particle-based numerical modeling for liquid marbles through drawing parallels to the transport of RBCs in microchannels. A comparative analysis between conventional CFD methods and particle-based approaches for cellular and blood flow dynamic simulation can be found under the review by Arabghahestani et al.

(66) Literature by Li et al.

(68) and Beris et al.

(69) offer an overview of both continuum-based models at micro/macroscales and multiscale particle-based models encompassing various length and temporal dimensions. Furthermore, these reviews deliberate upon the potential of coupling continuum-particle methods for blood plasma and RBC modeling. Arciero et al.

(70) investigated various modeling approaches encompassing cellular interactions, such as cell to cell or plasma interactions and the individual cellular phases. A concise overview of the reviews is provided in Table 2 for reference.

Table 2. List of Reviews for Numerical Approaches Employed in Blood Flow Simulation

Reference	Numerical methods
Li et al. (2013) (68)	Continuum-based modeling (BIM), particle-based modeling (LBM, LB-FE, SPH, DPD)
Freund (2014) (64)	RBC dynamic modeling (continuum-based modeling, complementary discrete microstructure modeling), blood flow dynamic modeling (FDM, IBM, LBM, particle-mesh methods, coupled boundary integral and mesh-based methods, DPD)
Ye et al. (2016) (65)	DPD, SPH, LBM, coupled IBM-Smoothed DPD
Arciero et al. (2017) (70)	LBM, IBM, DPD, conventional CFD Methods (FDM, FVM, FEM)
Arabghahestani et al. (2019) (66)	Particle-based methods (LBM, DPD, direct simulation Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics), SPH, conventional CFD methods (FDM, FVM, FEM)
Beris et al. (2021) (69)	DPD, smoothed DPD, IBM, LBM, BIM
Rathnayaka (2022) (67)	SPH, CG, LBM

3. Capillary Driven Blood Flow in LOC Systems

ARTICLE SECTIONS

3.1. Capillary Driven Flow Phenomena

Capillary driven (CD) flow is a pivotal mechanism in passive microfluidic flow systems

(9) such as the blood circulation system and LOC systems.

(71) CD flow is essentially the movement of a liquid to flow against drag forces, where the capillary effect exerts a force on the liquid at the borders, causing a liquid–air meniscus to flow despite gravity or other drag forces. A capillary pressure drops across the liquid–air interface with surface tension in the capillary radius and contact angle. The capillary effect depends heavily on the interaction between the different properties of surface materials. Different values of contact angles can be manipulated and obtained under varying levels of surface wettability treatments to manipulate the surface properties, resulting in different CD blood delivery rates for medical diagnostic device microchannels. CD flow techniques are appealing for many LOC devices, because they require no external energy. However, due to the passive property of liquid propulsion by capillary forces and the long-term instability of surface treatments on channel walls, the adaptability of CD flow in geometrically complex LOC devices may be limited.

3.2. Theoretical and Numerical Modeling of Capillary Driven Blood Flow

3.2.1. Theoretical Basis and Assumptions of Microfluidic Flow

The study of transport phenomena regarding either blood flow driven by capillary forces or externally applied forces under microfluid systems all demands a comprehensive recognition of the significant differences in flow dynamics between microscale and macroscale. The fundamental assumptions and principles behind fluid transport at the microscale are discussed in this section. Such a comprehension will lay the groundwork for the following analysis of the theoretical basis of capillary forces and their role in blood transport in LOC systems.

At the macroscale, fluid dynamics are often strongly influenced by gravity due to considerable fluid mass. However, the high surface to volume ratio at the microscale shifts the balance toward surface forces (e.g., surface tension and viscous forces), much larger than the inertial force. This difference gives rise to transport phenomena unique to microscale fluid transport, such as the prevalence of laminar flow due to a very low Reynolds number (generally lower than 1). Moreover, the fluid in a microfluidic system is often assumed to be incompressible due to the small flow velocity, indicating constant fluid density in both space and time.Microfluidic flow behaviors are governed by the fundamental principles of mass and momentum conservation, which are encapsulated in the continuity equation and the Navier–Stokes (N–S) equation. The continuity equation describes the conservation of mass, while the N–S equation captures the spatial and temporal variations in velocity, pressure, and other physical parameters. Under the assumption of the negligible influence of gravity in microfluidic systems, the continuity equation and the Eulerian representation of the incompressible N–S equation can be expressed as follows:

∇·𝐮⇀=0∇·�⇀=0

(7)

−∇𝑝+𝜇∇2𝐮⇀+∇·𝝉⇀−𝐅⇀=0−∇�+�∇2�⇀+∇·�⇀−�⇀=0

(8)Here, p is the pressure, u is the fluid viscosity,

𝝉⇀�⇀ represents the stress tensor, and F is the body force exerted by external forces if present.

3.2.2. Theoretical Basis and Modeling of Capillary Force in LOC Systems

The capillary force is often the major driving force to manipulate and transport blood without an externally applied force in LOC systems. Forces induced by the capillary effect impact the free surface of fluids and are represented not directly in the Navier–Stokes equations but through the pressure boundary conditions of the pressure term p. For hydrophilic surfaces, the liquid generally induces a contact angle between 0° and 30°, encouraging the spread and attraction of fluid under a positive cos θ condition. For this condition, the pressure drop becomes positive and generates a spontaneous flow forward. A hydrophobic solid surface repels the fluid, inducing minimal contact. Generally, hydrophobic solids exhibit a contact angle larger than 90°, inducing a negative value of cos θ. Such a value will result in a negative pressure drop and a flow in the opposite direction. The induced contact angle is often utilized to measure the wall exposure of various surface treatments on channel walls where different wettability gradients and surface tension effects for CD flows are established. Contact angles between different interfaces are obtainable through standard values or experimental methods for reference.

(72)For the characterization of the induced force by the capillary effect, the Young–Laplace (Y–L) equation

(73) is widely employed. In the equation, the capillary is considered a pressure boundary condition between the two interphases. Through the Y–L equation, the capillary pressure force can be determined, and subsequently, the continuity and momentum balance equations can be solved to obtain the blood filling rate. Kim et al.

(74) studied the effects of concentration and exposure time of a nonionic surfactant, Silwet L-77, on the performance of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel in terms of plasma and blood self-separation. The study characterized the capillary pressure force by incorporating the Y–L equation and further evaluated the effects of the changing contact angle due to different levels of applied channel wall surface treatments. The expression of the Y–L equation utilized by Kim et al.

(74) is as follows:

𝑃=−𝜎(cos𝜃b+cos𝜃tℎ+cos𝜃l+cos𝜃r𝑤)�=−�(cos⁡�b+cos⁡�tℎ+cos⁡�l+cos⁡�r�)

(9)where σ is the surface tension of the liquid and θ

_b, θ

_t, θ

_l, and θ

_r are the contact angle values between the liquid and the bottom, top, left, and right walls, respectively. A numerical simulation through Coventor software is performed to evaluate the dynamic changes in the filling rate within the microchannel. The simulation results for the blood filling rate in the microchannel are expressed at a specific time stamp, shown in Figure 2. The results portray an increasing instantaneous filling rate of blood in the microchannel following the decrease in contact angle induced by a higher concentration of the nonionic surfactant treated to the microchannel wall.

Figure 2. Numerical simulation of filling rate of capillary driven blood flow under various contact angle conditions at a specific timestamp. (74) Reproduced with permission from ref (74). Copyright 2010 Elsevier.

When in contact with hydrophilic or hydrophobic surfaces, blood forms a meniscus with a contact angle due to surface tension. The Lucas–Washburn (L–W) equation

(75) is one of the pioneering theoretical definitions for the position of the meniscus over time. In addition, the L–W equation provides the possibility for research to obtain the velocity of the blood formed meniscus through the derivation of the meniscus position. The L–W equation

(75) can be shown below:

𝐿(𝑡)=𝑅𝜎cos(𝜃)𝑡2𝜇⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯√�(�)=��⁡cos(�)�2�

(10)Here L(t) represents the distance of the liquid driven by the capillary forces. However, the generalized L–W equation solely assumes the constant physical properties from a Newtonian fluid rather than considering the non-Newtonian fluid behavior of blood. Cito et al.

(76) constructed an enhanced version of the L–W equation incorporating the power law to consider the RBC aggregation and the FL effect. The non-Newtonian fluid apparent viscosity under the Power Law model is defined as

𝜇=𝑘·(𝛾˙)𝑛−1�=�·(�˙)�−1

(11)where γ̇ is the strain rate tensor defined as

𝛾˙=12𝛾˙𝑖𝑗𝛾˙𝑗𝑖⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯√�˙=12�˙��˙��. The stress tensor term τ is computed as τ = μγ̇

_ij. The updated L–W equation by Cito

(76) is expressed as

𝐿(𝑡)=𝑅[(𝑛+13𝑛+1)(𝜎cos(𝜃)𝑅𝑘)1/𝑛𝑡]𝑛/𝑛+1�(�)=�[(�+13�+1)(�⁡cos(�)��)1/��]�/�+1

(12)where k is the flow consistency index and n is the power law index, respectively. The power law index, from the Power Law model, characterizes the extent of the non-Newtonian behavior of blood. Both the consistency and power law index rely on blood properties such as hematocrit, the appearance of the FL effect, the formation of RBC aggregates, etc. The updated L–W equation computes the location and velocity of blood flow caused by capillary forces at specified time points within the LOC devices, taking into account the effects of blood flow characteristics such as RBC aggregation and the FL effect on dynamic blood viscosity.Apart from the blood flow behaviors triggered by inherent blood properties, unique flow conditions driven by capillary forces that are portrayed under different microchannel geometries also hold crucial implications for CD blood delivery. Berthier et al.

(77) studied the spontaneous Concus–Finn condition, the condition to initiate the spontaneous capillary flow within a V-groove microchannel, as shown in Figure 3(a) both experimentally and numerically. Through experimental studies, the spontaneous Concus–Finn filament development of capillary driven blood flow is observed, as shown in Figure 3(b), while the dynamic development of blood flow is numerically simulated through CFD simulation.

Figure 3. (a) Sketch of the cross-section of Berthier’s V-groove microchannel, (b) experimental view of blood in the V-groove microchannel, (78) (c) illustration of the dynamic change of the extension of filament from FLOW 3D under capillary flow at three increasing time intervals. (78) Reproduced with permission from ref (78). Copyright 2014 Elsevier.

Berthier et al.

(77) characterized the contact angle needed for the initiation of the capillary driving force at a zero-inlet pressure, through the half-angle (α) of the V-groove geometry layout, and its relation to the Concus–Finn filament as shown below:

𝜃<𝜋2−𝛼sin𝛼1+2(ℎ2/𝑤)sin𝛼<cos𝜃{�<�2−�sin⁡�1+2(ℎ2/�)⁡sin⁡�<cos⁡�

(13)Three possible regimes were concluded based on the contact angle value for the initiation of flow and development of Concus–Finn filament:

𝜃>𝜃1𝜃1>𝜃>𝜃0𝜃0no SCFSCF without a Concus−Finn filamentSCF without a Concus−Finn filament{�>�1no SCF�1>�>�0SCF without a Concus−Finn filament�0SCF without a Concus−Finn filament

(14)Under Newton’s Law, the force balance with low Reynolds and Capillary numbers results in the neglect of inertial terms. The force balance between the capillary forces and the viscous force induced by the channel wall is proposed to derive the analytical fluid velocity. This relation between the two forces offers insights into the average flow velocity and the penetration distance function dependent on time. The apparent blood viscosity is defined by Berthier et al.

(78) through Casson’s law,

(23) given in eq 1. The research used the FLOW-3D program from Flow Science Inc. software, which solves transient, free-surface problems using the FDM in multiple dimensions. The Volume of Fluid (VOF) method

(79) is utilized to locate and track the dynamic extension of filament throughout the advancing interface within the channel ahead of the main flow at three progressing time stamps, as depicted in Figure 3(c).

4. Electro-osmotic Flow (EOF) in LOC Systems

ARTICLE SECTIONS

The utilization of external forces, such as electric fields, has significantly broadened the possibility of manipulating microfluidic flow in LOC systems.

(80) Externally applied electric field forces induce a fluid flow from the movement of ions in fluid terms as the “electro-osmotic flow” (EOF).Unique transport phenomena, such as enhanced flow velocity and flow instability, induced by non-Newtonian fluids, particularly viscoelastic fluids, under EOF, have sparked considerable interest in microfluidic devices with simple or complicated geometries within channels.

(81) However, compared to the study of Newtonian fluids and even other electro-osmotic viscoelastic fluid flows, the literature focusing on the theoretical and numerical modeling of electro-osmotic blood flow is limited due to the complexity of blood properties. Consequently, to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the complex blood flow behavior under EOF, theoretical and numerical studies of the transport phenomena in the EOF section will be based on the studies of different viscoelastic fluids under EOF rather than that of blood specifically. Despite this limitation, we believe these studies offer valuable insights that can help understand the complex behavior of blood flow under EOF.

4.1. EOF Phenomena

Electro-osmotic flow occurs at the interface between the microchannel wall and bulk phase solution. When in contact with the bulk phase, solution ions are absorbed or dissociated at the solid–liquid interface, resulting in the formation of a charge layer, as shown in Figure 4. This charged channel surface wall interacts with both negative and positive ions in the bulk sample, causing repulsion and attraction forces to create a thin layer of immobilized counterions, known as the Stern layer. The induced electric potential from the wall gradually decreases with an increase in the distance from the wall. The Stern layer potential, commonly termed the zeta potential, controls the intensity of the electrostatic interactions between mobile counterions and, consequently, the drag force from the applied electric field. Next to the Stern layer is the diffuse mobile layer, mainly composed of a mobile counterion. These two layers constitute the “electrical double layer” (EDL), the thickness of which is directly proportional to the ionic strength (concentration) of the bulk fluid. The relationship between the two parameters is characterized by a Debye length (λ

_D), expressed as

𝜆𝐷=𝜖𝑘B𝑇2(𝑍𝑒)2𝑐0⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯√��=��B�2(��)2�0

(15)where ϵ is the permittivity of the electrolyte solution, k

_B is the Boltzmann constant, T is the electron temperature, Z is the integer valence number, e is the elementary charge, and c

₀ is the ionic density.

Figure 4. Schematic diagram of an electro-osmotic flow in a microchannel with negative surface charge. (82) Reproduced with permission from ref (82). Copyright 2012 Woodhead Publishing.

When an electric field is applied perpendicular to the EDL, viscous drag is generated due to the movement of excess ions in the EDL. Electro-osmotic forces can be attributed to the externally applied electric potential (ϕ) and the zeta potential, the system wall induced potential by charged walls (ψ). As illustrated in Figure 4, the majority of ions in the bulk phase have a uniform velocity profile, except for a shear rate condition confined within an extremely thin Stern layer. Therefore, EOF displays a unique characteristic of a “near flat” or plug flow velocity profile, different from the parabolic flow typically induced by pressure-driven microfluidic flow (Hagen–Poiseuille flow). The plug-shaped velocity profile of the EOF possesses a high shear rate above the Stern layer.Overall, the EOF velocity magnitude is typically proportional to the Debye Length (λ

_D), zeta potential, and magnitude of the externally applied electric field, while a more viscous liquid reduces the EOF velocity.

4.2. Modeling on Electro-osmotic Viscoelastic Fluid Flow

4.2.1. Theoretical Basis of EOF Mechanisms

The EOF of an incompressible viscoelastic fluid is commonly governed by the continuity and incompressible N–S equations, as shown in eqs 7 and 8, where the stress tensor and the electrostatic force term are coupled. The electro-osmotic body force term F, representing the body force exerted by the externally applied electric force, is defined as

𝐹⇀=𝑝𝐸𝐸⇀�⇀=��⇀, where ρ

_E and

𝐸⇀�⇀ are the net electric charge density and the applied external electric field, respectively.Numerous models are established to theoretically study the externally applied electric potential and the system wall induced potential by charged walls. The following Laplace equation, expressed as eq 16, is generally adapted and solved to calculate the externally applied potential (ϕ).

∇2𝜙=0∇2�=0

(16)Ion diffusion under applied electric fields, together with mass transport resulting from convection and diffusion, transports ionic solutions in bulk flow under electrokinetic processes. The Nernst–Planck equation can describe these transport methods, including convection, diffusion, and electro-diffusion. Therefore, the Nernst–Planck equation is used to determine the distribution of the ions within the electrolyte. The electric potential induced by the charged channel walls follows the Poisson–Nernst–Plank (PNP) equation, which can be written as eq 17.

∇·[𝐷𝑖∇𝑛𝑖−𝑢⇀𝑛𝑖+𝑛𝑖𝐷𝑖𝑧𝑖𝑒𝑘𝑏𝑇∇(𝜙+𝜓)]=0∇·[��∇��−�⇀��+��∇(�+�)]=0

(17)where D

_i, n

_i, and z

_i are the diffusion coefficient, ionic concentration, and ionic valence of the ionic species I, respectively. However, due to the high nonlinearity and numerical stiffness introduced by different lengths and time scales from the PNP equations, the Poisson–Boltzmann (PB) model is often considered the major simplified method of the PNP equation to characterize the potential distribution of the EDL region in microchannels. In the PB model, it is assumed that the ionic species in the fluid follow the Boltzmann distribution. This model is typically valid for steady-state problems where charge transport can be considered negligible, the EDLs do not overlap with each other, and the intrinsic potentials are low. It provides a simplified representation of the potential distribution in the EDL region. The PB equation governing the EDL electric potential distribution is described as

∇2𝜓=(2𝑒𝑧𝑛0𝜀𝜀0)sinh(𝑧𝑒𝜓𝑘b𝑇)∇2�=(2��0��0)⁡sinh(��b�)

(18)where n

₀ is the ion bulk concentration, z is the ionic valence, and ε

₀ is the electric permittivity in the vacuum. Under low electric potential conditions, an even further simplified model to illustrate the EOF phenomena is the Debye–Hückel (DH) model. The DH model is derived by obtaining a charge density term by expanding the exponential term of the Boltzmann equation in a Taylor series.

4.2.2. EOF Modeling for Viscoelastic Fluids

Many studies through numerical modeling were performed to obtain a deeper understanding of the effect exhibited by externally applied electric fields on viscoelastic flow in microchannels under various geometrical designs. Bello et al.

(83) found that methylcellulose solution, a non-Newtonian polymer solution, resulted in stronger electro-osmotic mobility in experiments when compared to the predictions by the Helmholtz–Smoluchowski equation, which is commonly used to define the velocity of EOF of a Newtonian fluid. Being one of the pioneers to identify the discrepancies between the EOF of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, Bello et al. attributed such discrepancies to the presence of a very high shear rate in the EDL, resulting in a change in the orientation of the polymer molecules. Park and Lee

(84) utilized the FVM to solve the PB equation for the characterization of the electric field induced force. In the study, the concept of fractional calculus for the Oldroyd-B model was adapted to illustrate the elastic and memory effects of viscoelastic fluids in a straight microchannel They observed that fluid elasticity and increased ratio of viscoelastic fluid contribution to overall fluid viscosity had a significant impact on the volumetric flow rate and sensitivity of velocity to electric field strength compared to Newtonian fluids. Afonso et al.

(85) derived an analytical expression for EOF of viscoelastic fluid between parallel plates using the DH model to account for a zeta potential condition below 25 mV. The study established the understanding of the electro-osmotic viscoelastic fluid flow under low zeta potential conditions. Apart from the electrokinetic forces, pressure forces can also be coupled with EOF to generate a unique fluid flow behavior within the microchannel. Sousa et al.

(86) analytically studied the flow of a standard viscoelastic solution by combining the pressure gradient force with an externally applied electric force. It was found that, at a near wall skimming layer and the outer layer away from the wall, macromolecules migrating away from surface walls in viscoelastic fluids are observed. In the study, the Phan-Thien Tanner (PTT) constitutive model is utilized to characterize the viscoelastic properties of the solution. The approach is found to be valid when the EDL is much thinner than the skimming layer under an enhanced flow rate. Zhao and Yang

(87) solved the PB equation and Carreau model for the characterization of the EOF mechanism and non-Newtonian fluid respectively through the FEM. The numerical results depict that, different from the EOF of Newtonian fluids, non-Newtonian fluids led to an increase of electro-osmotic mobility for shear thinning fluids but the opposite for shear thickening fluids.Like other fluid transport driving forces, EOF within unique geometrical layouts also portrays unique transport phenomena. Pimenta and Alves

(88) utilized the FVM to perform numerical simulations of the EOF of viscoelastic fluids considering the PB equation and the Oldroyd-B model, in a cross-slot and flow-focusing microdevices. It was found that electroelastic instabilities are formed due to the development of large stresses inside the EDL with streamlined curvature at geometry corners. Bezerra et al.

(89) used the FDM to numerically analyze the vortex formation and flow instability from an electro-osmotic non-Newtonian fluid flow in a microchannel with a nozzle geometry and parallel wall geometry setting. The PNP equation is utilized to characterize the charge motion in the EOF and the PTT model for non-Newtonian flow characterization. A constriction geometry is commonly utilized in blood flow adapted in LOC systems due to the change in blood flow behavior under narrow dimensions in a microchannel. Ji et al.

(90) recently studied the EOF of viscoelastic fluid in a constriction microchannel connected by two relatively big reservoirs on both ends (as seen in Figure 5) filled with the polyacrylamide polymer solution, a viscoelastic fluid, and an incompressible monovalent binary electrolyte solution KCl.

Figure 5. Schematic diagram of a negatively charged constriction microchannel connected to two reservoirs at both ends. An electro-osmotic flow is induced in the system by the induced potential difference between the anode and cathode. (90) Reproduced with permission from ref (90). Copyright 2021 The Authors, under the terms of the Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0) License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

In studying the EOF of viscoelastic fluids, the Oldroyd-B model is often utilized to characterize the polymeric stress tensor and the deformation rate of the fluid. The Oldroyd-B model is expressed as follows:

𝜏=𝜂p𝜆(𝐜−𝐈)�=�p�(�−�)

(19)where η

_p, λ, c, and I represent the polymer dynamic viscosity, polymer relaxation time, symmetric conformation tensor of the polymer molecules, and the identity matrix, respectively.A log-conformation tensor approach is taken to prevent convergence difficulty induced by the viscoelastic properties. The conformation tensor (c) in the polymeric stress tensor term is redefined by a new tensor (Θ) based on the natural logarithm of the c. The new tensor is defined as

Θ=ln(𝐜)=𝐑ln(𝚲)𝐑Θ=ln(�)=�⁡ln(�)�

(20)in which Λ is the diagonal matrix and R is the orthogonal matrix.Under the new conformation tensor, the induced EOF of a viscoelastic fluid is governed by the continuity and N–S equations adapting the Oldroyd-B model, which is expressed as

∂𝚯∂𝑡+𝐮·∇𝚯=𝛀Θ−ΘΩ+2𝐁+1𝜆(eΘ−𝐈)∂�∂�+�·∇�=�Θ−ΘΩ+2�+1�(eΘ−�)

(21)where Ω and B represent the anti-symmetric matrix and the symmetric traceless matrix of the decomposition of the velocity gradient tensor ∇u, respectively. The conformation tensor can be recovered by c = exp(Θ). The PB model and Laplace equation are utilized to characterize the charged channel wall induced potential and the externally applied potential.The governing equations are numerically solved through the FVM by RheoTool,

(42) an open-source viscoelastic EOF solver on the OpenFOAM platform. A SIMPLEC (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equations-Consistent) algorithm was applied to solve the velocity-pressure coupling. The pressure field and velocity field were computed by the PCG (Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient) solver and the PBiCG (Preconditioned Biconjugate Gradient) solver, respectively.Ranging magnitudes of an applied electric field or fluid concentration induce both different streamlines and velocity magnitudes at various locations and times of the microchannel. In the study performed by Ji et al.,

(90) notable fluctuation of streamlines and vortex formation is formed at the upper stream entrance of the constriction as shown in Figure 6(a) and (b), respectively, due to the increase of electrokinetic effect, which is seen as a result of the increase in polymeric stress (τ

_xx).

(90) The contraction geometry enhances the EOF velocity within the constriction channel under high E

_app condition (600 V/cm). Such phenomena can be attributed to the dependence of electro-osmotic viscoelastic fluid flow on the system wall surface and bulk fluid properties.

(91)

Figure 6. Schematic diagram of vortex formation and streamlines of EOF depicting flow instability at (a) 1.71 s and (b) 1.75 s. Spatial distribution of the elastic normal stress at (c) high E_app condition. Streamline of an electro-osmotic flow under E_app of 600 V/cm (90) for (d) non-Newtonian and (e) Newtonian fluid through a constriction geometry. Reproduced with permission from ref (90). Copyright 2021 The Authors, under the terms of the Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0) License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

As elastic normal stress exceeds the local shear stress, flow instability and vortex formation occur. The induced elastic stress under EOF not only enhances the instability of the flow but often generates an irregular secondary flow leading to strong disturbance.

(92) It is also vital to consider the effect of the constriction layout of microchannels on the alteration of the field strength within the system. The contraction geometry enhances a larger electric field strength compared with other locations of the channel outside the constriction region, resulting in a higher velocity gradient and stronger extension on the polymer within the viscoelastic solution. Following the high shear flow condition, a higher magnitude of stretch for polymer molecules in viscoelastic fluids exhibits larger elastic stresses and enhancement of vortex formation at the region.

(93)As shown in Figure 6(c), significant elastic normal stress occurs at the inlet of the constriction microchannel. Such occurrence of a polymeric flow can be attributed to the dominating elongational flow, giving rise to high deformation of the polymers within the viscoelastic fluid flow, resulting in higher elastic stress from the polymers. Such phenomena at the entrance result in the difference in velocity streamline as circled in Figure 6(d) compared to that of the Newtonian fluid at the constriction entrance in Figure 6(e).

(90) The difference between the Newtonian and polymer solution at the exit, as circled in Figure 6(d) and (e), can be attributed to the extrudate swell effect of polymers

(94) within the viscoelastic fluid flow. The extrudate swell effect illustrates that, as polymers emerge from the constriction exit, they tend to contract in the flow direction and grow in the normal direction, resulting in an extrudate diameter greater than the channel size. The deformation of polymers within the polymeric flow at both the entrance and exit of the contraction channel facilitates the change in shear stress conditions of the flow, leading to the alteration in streamlines of flows for each region.

4.3. EOF Applications in LOC Systems

4.3.1. Mixing in LOC Systems

Rather than relying on the micromixing controlled by molecular diffusion under low Reynolds number conditions, active mixers actively leverage convective instability and vortex formation induced by electro-osmotic flows from alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) electric fields. Such adaptation is recognized as significant breakthroughs for promotion of fluid mixing in chemical and biological applications such as drug delivery, medical diagnostics, chemical synthesis, and so on.

(95)Many researchers proposed novel designs of electro-osmosis micromixers coupled with numerical simulations in conjunction with experimental findings to increase their understanding of the role of flow instability and vortex formation in the mixing process under electrokinetic phenomena. Matsubara and Narumi

(96) numerically modeled the mixing process in a microchannel with four electrodes on each side of the microchannel wall, which generated a disruption through unstable electro-osmotic vortices. It was found that particle mixing was sensitive to both the convection effect induced by the main and secondary vortex within the micromixer and the change in oscillation frequency caused by the supplied AC voltage when the Reynolds number was varied. Qaderi et al.

(97) adapted the PNP equation to numerically study the effect of the geometry and zeta potential configuration of the microchannel on the mixing process with a combined electro-osmotic pressure driven flow. It was reported that the application of heterogeneous zeta potential configuration enhances the mixing efficiency by around 23% while the height of the hurdles increases the mixing efficiency at most 48.1%. Cho et al.

(98) utilized the PB model and Laplace equation to numerically simulate the electro-osmotic non-Newtonian fluid mixing process within a wavy and block layout of microchannel walls. The Power Law model is adapted to describe the fluid rheological characteristic. It was found that shear-thinning fluids possess a higher volumetric flow rate, which could result in poorer mixing efficiency compared to that of Newtonian fluids. Numerous studies have revealed that flow instability and vortex generation, in particular secondary vortices produced by barriers or greater magnitudes of heterogeneous zeta potential distribution, enhance mixing by increasing bulk flow velocity and reducing flow distance.To better understand the mechanism of disturbance formed in the system due to externally applied forces, known as electrokinetic instability, literature often utilize the Rayleigh (Ra) number,

(1) as described below:

𝑅𝑎𝑣=𝑢ev𝑢eo=(𝛾−1𝛾+1)2𝑊𝛿2𝐸el2𝐻2𝜁𝛿Ra�=�ev�eo=(�−1�+1)2��2�el2�2��

(22)where γ is the conductivity ratio of the two streams and can be written as

𝛾=𝜎el,H𝜎el,L�=�el,H�el,L. The Ra number characterizes the ratio between electroviscous and electro-osmotic flow. A high Ra

_v value often results in good mixing. It is evident that fluid properties such as the conductivity (σ) of the two streams play a key role in the formation of disturbances to enhance mixing in microsystems. At the same time, electrokinetic parameters like the zeta potential (ζ) in the Ra number is critical in the characterization of electro-osmotic velocity and a slip boundary condition at the microchannel wall.To understand the mixing result along the channel, the concentration field can be defined and simulated under the assumption of steady state conditions and constant diffusion coefficient for each of the working fluid within the system through the convection–diffusion equation as below:

∂𝑐𝒊∂𝑡+∇⇀(𝑐𝑖𝑢⇀−𝐷𝑖∇⇀𝑐𝒊)=0∂��∂�+∇⇀(��⇀−��∇⇀��)=0

(23)where c

_i is the species concentration of species i and D

_i is the diffusion coefficient of the corresponding species.The standard deviation of concentration (σ

_sd) can be adapted to evaluate the mixing quality of the system.

(97) The standard deviation for concentration at a specific portion of the channel may be calculated using the equation below:

𝜎sd=∫10(𝐶∗(𝑦∗)−𝐶m)2d𝑦∗∫10d𝑦∗⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯�sd=∫01(�*(�*)−�m)2d�*∫01d�*

(24)where C*(y*) and C

_m are the non-dimensional concentration profile and the mean concentration at the portion, respectively. C* is the non-dimensional concentration and can be calculated as

𝐶∗=𝐶𝐶ref�*=��ref, where C

_ref is the reference concentration defined as the bulk solution concentration. The mean concentration profile can be calculated as

𝐶m=∫10(𝐶∗(𝑦∗)d𝑦∗∫10d𝑦∗�m=∫01(�*(�*)d�*∫01d�*. With the standard deviation of concentration, the mixing efficiency

(97) can then be calculated as below:

𝜀𝑥=1−𝜎sd𝜎sd,0��=1−�sd�sd,0

(25)where σ

_sd_,0 is the standard derivation of the case of no mixing. The value of the mixing efficiency is typically utilized in conjunction with the simulated flow field and concentration field to explore the effect of geometrical and electrokinetic parameters on the optimization of the mixing results.

5. Summary

ARTICLE SECTIONS

5.1. Conclusion

Viscoelastic fluids such as blood flow in LOC systems are an essential topic to proceed with diagnostic analysis and research through microdevices in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. The complex blood flow behavior is tightly controlled by the viscoelastic characteristics of blood such as the dynamic viscosity and the elastic property of RBCs under various shear rate conditions. Furthermore, the flow behaviors under varied driving forces promote an array of microfluidic transport phenomena that are critical to the management of blood flow and other adapted viscoelastic fluids in LOC systems. This review addressed the blood flow phenomena, the complicated interplay between shear rate and blood flow behaviors, and their numerical modeling under LOC systems through the lens of the viscoelasticity characteristic. Furthermore, a theoretical understanding of capillary forces and externally applied electric forces leads to an in-depth investigation of the relationship between blood flow patterns and the key parameters of the two driving forces, the latter of which is introduced through the lens of viscoelastic fluids, coupling numerical modeling to improve the knowledge of blood flow manipulation in LOC systems. The flow disturbances triggered by the EOF of viscoelastic fluids and their impact on blood flow patterns have been deeply investigated due to their important role and applications in LOC devices. Continuous advancements of various numerical modeling methods with experimental findings through more efficient and less computationally heavy methods have served as an encouraging sign of establishing more accurate illustrations of the mechanisms for multiphase blood and other viscoelastic fluid flow transport phenomena driven by various forces. Such progress is fundamental for the manipulation of unique transport phenomena, such as the generated disturbances, to optimize functionalities offered by microdevices in LOC systems.

The following section will provide further insights into the employment of studied blood transport phenomena to improve the functionality of micro devices adapting LOC technology. A discussion of the novel roles that external driving forces play in microfluidic flow behaviors is also provided. Limitations in the computational modeling of blood flow and electrokinetic phenomena in LOC systems will also be emphasized, which may provide valuable insights for future research endeavors. These discussions aim to provide guidance and opportunities for new paths in the ongoing development of LOC devices that adapt blood flow.

5.2. Future Directions

5.2.1. Electro-osmosis Mixing in LOC Systems

Despite substantial research, mixing results through flow instability and vortex formation phenomena induced by electro-osmotic mixing still deviate from the effective mixing results offered by chaotic mixing results such as those seen in turbulent flows. However, recent discoveries of a mixing phenomenon that is generally observed under turbulent flows are found within electro-osmosis micromixers under low Reynolds number conditions. Zhao

(99) experimentally discovered a rapid mixing process in an AC applied micromixer, where the power spectrum of concentration under an applied voltage of 20 V

_p-p induces a −5/3 slope within a frequency range. This value of the slope is considered as the O–C spectrum in macroflows, which is often visible under relatively high Re conditions, such as the Taylor microscale Reynolds number Re > 500 in turbulent flows.

(100) However, the Re value in the studied system is less than 1 at the specific location and applied voltage. A secondary flow is also suggested to occur close to microchannel walls, being attributed to the increase of convective instability within the system.Despite the experimental phenomenon proposed by Zhao et al.,

(99) the range of effects induced by vital parameters of an EOF mixing system on the enhanced mixing results and mechanisms of disturbance generated by the turbulent-like flow instability is not further characterized. Such a gap in knowledge may hinder the adaptability and commercialization of the discovery of micromixers. One of the parameters for further evaluation is the conductivity gradient of the fluid flow. A relatively strong conductivity gradient (5000:1) was adopted in the system due to the conductive properties of the two fluids. The high conductivity gradients may contribute to the relatively large Rayleigh number and differences in EDL layer thickness, resulting in an unusual disturbance in laminar flow conditions and enhanced mixing results. However, high conductivity gradients are not always achievable by the working fluids due to diverse fluid properties. The reliance on turbulent-like phenomena and rapid mixing results in a large conductivity gradient should be established to prevent the limited application of fluids for the mixing system. In addition, the proposed system utilizes distinct zeta potential distributions at the top and bottom walls due to their difference in material choices, which may be attributed to the flow instability phenomena. Further studies should be made on varying zeta potential magnitude and distribution to evaluate their effect on the slip boundary conditions of the flow and the large shear rate condition close to the channel wall of EOF. Such a study can potentially offer an optimized condition in zeta potential magnitude through material choices and geometrical layout of the zeta potential for better mixing results and manipulation of mixing fluid dynamics. The two vital parameters mentioned above can be varied with the aid of numerical simulation to understand the effect of parameters on the interaction between electro-osmotic forces and electroviscous forces. At the same time, the relationship of developed streamlines of the simulated velocity and concentration field, following their relationship with the mixing results, under the impact of these key parameters can foster more insight into the range of impact that the two parameters have on the proposed phenomena and the microfluidic dynamic principles of disturbances.

In addition, many of the current investigations of electrokinetic mixers commonly emphasize the fluid dynamics of mixing for Newtonian fluids, while the utilization of biofluids, primarily viscoelastic fluids such as blood, and their distinctive response under shear forces in these novel mixing processes of LOC systems are significantly less studied. To develop more compatible microdevice designs and efficient mixing outcomes for the biomedical industry, it is necessary to fill the knowledge gaps in the literature on electro-osmotic mixing for biofluids, where properties of elasticity, dynamic viscosity, and intricate relationship with shear flow from the fluid are further considered.

5.2.2. Electro-osmosis Separation in LOC Systems

Particle separation in LOC devices, particularly in biological research and diagnostics, is another area where disturbances may play a significant role in optimization.

(101) Plasma analysis in LOC systems under precise control of blood flow phenomena and blood/plasma separation procedures can detect vital information about infectious diseases from particular antibodies and foreign nucleic acids for medical treatments, diagnostics, and research,

(102) offering more efficient results and simple operating procedures compared to that of the traditional centrifugation method for blood and plasma separation. However, the adaptability of LOC devices for blood and plasma separation is often hindered by microchannel clogging, where flow velocity and plasma yield from LOC devices is reduced due to occasional RBC migration and aggregation at the filtration entrance of microdevices.

(103)It is important to note that the EOF induces flow instability close to microchannel walls, which may provide further solutions to clogging for the separation process of the LOC systems. Mohammadi et al.

(104) offered an anti-clogging effect of RBCs at the blood and plasma separating device filtration entry, adjacent to the surface wall, through RBC disaggregation under high shear rate conditions generated by a forward and reverse EOF direction.

Further theoretical and numerical research can be conducted to characterize the effect of high shear rate conditions near microchannel walls toward the detachment of binding blood cells on surfaces and the reversibility of aggregation. Through numerical modeling with varying electrokinetic parameters to induce different degrees of disturbances or shear conditions at channel walls, it may be possible to optimize and better understand the process of disrupting the forces that bind cells to surface walls and aggregated cells at filtration pores. RBCs that migrate close to microchannel walls are often attracted by the adhesion force between the RBC and the solid surface originating from the van der Waals forces. Following RBC migration and attachment by adhesive forces adjacent to the microchannel walls as shown in Figure 7, the increase in viscosity at the region causes a lower shear condition and encourages RBC aggregation (cell–cell interaction), which clogs filtering pores or microchannels and reduces flow velocity at filtration region. Both the impact that shear forces and disturbances may induce on cell binding forces with surface walls and other cells leading to aggregation may suggest further characterization. Kinetic parameters such as activation energy and the rate-determining step for cell binding composition attachment and detachment should be considered for modeling the dynamics of RBCs and blood flows under external forces in LOC separation devices.

Figure 7. Schematic representations of clogging at a microchannel pore following the sequence of RBC migration, cell attachment to channel walls, and aggregation. (105) Reproduced with permission from ref (105). Copyright 2018 The Authors under the terms of the Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0) License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

5.2.3. Relationship between External Forces and Microfluidic Systems

In blood flow, a thicker CFL suggests a lower blood viscosity, suggesting a complex relationship between shear stress and shear rate, affecting the blood viscosity and blood flow. Despite some experimental and numerical studies on electro-osmotic non-Newtonian fluid flow, limited literature has performed an in-depth investigation of the role that applied electric forces and other external forces could play in the process of CFL formation. Additional studies on how shear rates from external forces affect CFL formation and microfluidic flow dynamics can shed light on the mechanism of the contribution induced by external driving forces to the development of a separate phase of layer, similar to CFL, close to the microchannel walls and distinct from the surrounding fluid within the system, then influencing microfluidic flow dynamics.One of the mechanisms of phenomena to be explored is the formation of the Exclusion Zone (EZ) region following a “Self-Induced Flow” (SIF) phenomenon discovered by Li and Pollack,

(106) as shown in Figure 8(a) and (b), respectively. A spontaneous sustained axial flow is observed when hydrophilic materials are immersed in water, resulting in the buildup of a negative layer of charges, defined as the EZ, after water molecules absorb infrared radiation (IR) energy and break down into H and OH

⁺^–.

Figure 8. Schematic representations of (a) the Exclusion Zone region and (b) the Self Induced Flow through visualization of microsphere movement within a microchannel. (106) Reproduced with permission from ref (106). Copyright 2020 The Authors under the terms of the Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0) License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Despite the finding of such a phenomenon, the specific mechanism and role of IR energy have yet to be defined for the process of EZ development. To further develop an understanding of the role of IR energy in such phenomena, a feasible study may be seen through the lens of the relationships between external forces and microfluidic flow. In the phenomena, the increase of SIF velocity under a rise of IR radiation resonant characteristics is shown in the participation of the external electric field near the microchannel walls under electro-osmotic viscoelastic fluid flow systems. The buildup of negative charges at the hydrophilic surfaces in EZ is analogous to the mechanism of electrical double layer formation. Indeed, research has initiated the exploration of the core mechanisms for EZ formation through the lens of the electrokinetic phenomena.

(107) Such a similarity of the role of IR energy and the transport phenomena of SIF with electrokinetic phenomena paves the way for the definition of the unknown SIF phenomena and EZ formation. Furthermore, Li and Pollack

(106) suggest whether CFL formation might contribute to a SIF of blood using solely IR radiation, a commonly available source of energy in nature, as an external driving force. The proposition may be proven feasible with the presence of the CFL region next to the negatively charged hydrophilic endothelial glycocalyx layer, coating the luminal side of blood vessels.

(108) Further research can dive into the resonating characteristics between the formation of the CFL region next to the hydrophilic endothelial glycocalyx layer and that of the EZ formation close to hydrophilic microchannel walls. Indeed, an increase in IR energy is known to rapidly accelerate EZ formation and SIF velocity, depicting similarity to the increase in the magnitude of electric field forces and greater shear rates at microchannel walls affecting CFL formation and EOF velocity. Such correlation depicts a future direction in whether SIF blood flow can be observed and characterized theoretically further through the lens of the relationship between blood flow and shear forces exhibited by external energy.

The intricate link between the CFL and external forces, more specifically the externally applied electric field, can receive further attention to provide a more complete framework for the mechanisms between IR radiation and EZ formation. Such characterization may also contribute to a greater comprehension of the role IR can play in CFL formation next to the endothelial glycocalyx layer as well as its role as a driving force to propel blood flow, similar to the SIF, but without the commonly assumed pressure force from heart contraction as a source of driving force.

5.3. Challenges

Although there have been significant improvements in blood flow modeling under LOC systems over the past decade, there are still notable constraints that may require special attention for numerical simulation applications to benefit the adaptability of the designs and functionalities of LOC devices. Several points that require special attention are mentioned below:

1.	The majority of CFD models operate under the relationship between the viscoelasticity of blood and the shear rate conditions of flow. The relative effect exhibited by the presence of highly populated RBCs in whole blood and their forces amongst the cells themselves under complex flows often remains unclearly defined. Furthermore, the full range of cell populations in whole blood requires a much more computational load for numerical modeling. Therefore, a vital goal for future research is to evaluate a reduced modeling method where the impact of cell–cell interaction on the viscoelastic property of blood is considered.
2.	Current computational methods on hemodynamics rely on continuum models based upon non-Newtonian rheology at the macroscale rather than at molecular and cellular levels. Careful considerations should be made for the development of a constructive framework for the physical and temporal scales of micro/nanoscale systems to evaluate the intricate relationship between fluid driving forces, dynamic viscosity, and elasticity.
3.	Viscoelastic fluids under the impact of externally applied electric forces often deviate from the assumptions of no-slip boundary conditions due to the unique flow conditions induced by externally applied forces. Furthermore, the mechanism of vortex formation and viscoelastic flow instability at laminar flow conditions should be better defined through the lens of the microfluidic flow phenomenon to optimize the prediction of viscoelastic flow across different geometrical layouts. Mathematical models and numerical methods are needed to better predict such disturbance caused by external forces and the viscoelasticity of fluids at such a small scale.
4.	Under practical situations, zeta potential distribution at channel walls frequently deviates from the common assumption of a constant distribution because of manufacturing faults or inherent surface charges prior to the introduction of electrokinetic influence. These discrepancies frequently lead to inconsistent surface potential distribution, such as excess positive ions at relatively more negatively charged walls. Accordingly, unpredicted vortex formation and flow instability may occur. Therefore, careful consideration should be given to these discrepancies and how they could trigger the transport process and unexpected results of a microdevice.

Author Information

ARTICLE SECTIONS

Corresponding Authors
- Zhe Chen – Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China; Email: zaccooky@sjtu.edu.cn
- Bo Ouyang – Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China; Email: bouy93@sjtu.edu.cn
- Zheng-Hong Luo – Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9011-6020; Email: luozh@sjtu.edu.cn
Authors
- Bin-Jie Lai – Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China; https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8133-5381
- Li-Tao Zhu – Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6514-8864
NotesThe authors declare no competing financial interest.

Acknowledgments

ARTICLE SECTIONS

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 22238005) and the Postdoctoral Research Foundation of China (No. GZC20231576).

Vocabulary

ARTICLE SECTIONS

Microfluidics	the field of technological and scientific study that investigates fluid flow in channels with dimensions between 1 and 1000 μm
Lab-on-a-Chip Technology	the field of research and technological development aimed at integrating the micro/nanofluidic characteristics to conduct laboratory processes on handheld devices
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)	the method utilizing computational abilities to predict physical fluid flow behaviors mathematically through solving the governing equations of corresponding fluid flows
Shear Rate	the rate of change in velocity where one layer of fluid moves past the adjacent layer
Viscoelasticity	the property holding both elasticity and viscosity characteristics relying on the magnitude of applied shear stress and time-dependent strain
Electro-osmosis	the flow of fluid under an applied electric field when charged solid surface is in contact with the bulk fluid
Vortex	the rotating motion of a fluid revolving an axis line

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An Investigation on Hydraulic Aspects of Rectangular Labyrinth Pool and Weir Fishway Using FLOW-3D

Research Article-Civil Engineering
Open access
Published: 04 January 2024

Abstract

웨어의 두 가지 서로 다른 배열(즉, 직선형 웨어와 직사각형 미로 웨어)을 사용하여 웨어 모양, 웨어 간격, 웨어의 오리피스 존재, 흐름 영역에 대한 바닥 경사와 같은 기하학적 매개변수의 영향을 평가했습니다.

유량과 수심의 관계, 수심 평균 속도의 변화와 분포, 난류 특성, 어도에서의 에너지 소산. 흐름 조건에 미치는 영향을 조사하기 위해 FLOW-3D® 소프트웨어를 사용하여 전산 유체 역학 시뮬레이션을 수행했습니다.

수치 모델은 계산된 표면 프로파일과 속도를 문헌의 실험적으로 측정된 값과 비교하여 검증되었습니다. 수치 모델과 실험 데이터의 결과, 급락유동의 표면 프로파일과 표준화된 속도 프로파일에 대한 평균 제곱근 오차와 평균 절대 백분율 오차가 각각 0.014m와 3.11%로 나타나 수치 모델의 능력을 확인했습니다.

수영장과 둑의 흐름 특성을 예측합니다. 각 모델에 대해 L/B = 1.83(L: 웨어 거리, B: 수로 폭) 값에서 급락 흐름이 발생할 수 있고 L/B = 0.61에서 스트리밍 흐름이 발생할 수 있습니다. 직사각형 미로보 모델은 기존 모델보다 무차원 방류량(Q+)이 더 큽니다.

수중 흐름의 기존 보와 직사각형 미로 보의 경우 Q는 각각 1.56과 1.47h에 비례합니다(h: 보 위 수심). 기존 웨어의 풀 내 평균 깊이 속도는 직사각형 미로 웨어의 평균 깊이 속도보다 높습니다.

그러나 주어진 방류량, 바닥 경사 및 웨어 간격에 대해 난류 운동 에너지(TKE) 및 난류 강도(TI) 값은 기존 웨어에 비해 직사각형 미로 웨어에서 더 높습니다. 기존의 웨어는 직사각형 미로 웨어보다 에너지 소산이 더 낮습니다.

더 낮은 TKE 및 TI 값은 미로 웨어 상단, 웨어 하류 벽 모서리, 웨어 측벽과 채널 벽 사이에서 관찰되었습니다. 보와 바닥 경사면 사이의 거리가 증가함에 따라 평균 깊이 속도, 난류 운동 에너지의 평균값 및 난류 강도가 증가하고 수영장의 체적 에너지 소산이 감소했습니다.

둑에 개구부가 있으면 평균 깊이 속도와 TI 값이 증가하고 풀 내에서 가장 높은 TKE 범위가 감소하여 두 모델 모두에서 물고기를 위한 휴식 공간이 더 넓어지고(TKE가 낮아짐) 에너지 소산율이 감소했습니다.

Two different arrangements of the weir (i.e., straight weir and rectangular labyrinth weir) were used to evaluate the effects of geometric parameters such as weir shape, weir spacing, presence of an orifice at the weir, and bed slope on the flow regime and the relationship between discharge and depth, variation and distribution of depth-averaged velocity, turbulence characteristics, and energy dissipation at the fishway. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed using FLOW-3D® software to examine the effects on flow conditions. The numerical model was validated by comparing the calculated surface profiles and velocities with experimentally measured values from the literature. The results of the numerical model and experimental data showed that the root-mean-square error and mean absolute percentage error for the surface profiles and normalized velocity profiles of plunging flows were 0.014 m and 3.11%, respectively, confirming the ability of the numerical model to predict the flow characteristics of the pool and weir. A plunging flow can occur at values of L/B = 1.83 (L: distance of the weir, B: width of the channel) and streaming flow at L/B = 0.61 for each model. The rectangular labyrinth weir model has larger dimensionless discharge values (Q+) than the conventional model. For the conventional weir and the rectangular labyrinth weir at submerged flow, Q is proportional to 1.56 and 1.47h, respectively (h: the water depth above the weir). The average depth velocity in the pool of a conventional weir is higher than that of a rectangular labyrinth weir. However, for a given discharge, bed slope, and weir spacing, the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and turbulence intensity (TI) values are higher for a rectangular labyrinth weir compared to conventional weir. The conventional weir has lower energy dissipation than the rectangular labyrinth weir. Lower TKE and TI values were observed at the top of the labyrinth weir, at the corner of the wall downstream of the weir, and between the side walls of the weir and the channel wall. As the distance between the weirs and the bottom slope increased, the average depth velocity, the average value of turbulent kinetic energy and the turbulence intensity increased, and the volumetric energy dissipation in the pool decreased. The presence of an opening in the weir increased the average depth velocity and TI values and decreased the range of highest TKE within the pool, resulted in larger resting areas for fish (lower TKE), and decreased the energy dissipation rates in both models.

1 Introduction

Artificial barriers such as detour dams, weirs, and culverts in lakes and rivers prevent fish from migrating and completing the upstream and downstream movement cycle. This chain is related to the life stage of the fish, its location, and the type of migration. Several riverine fish species instinctively migrate upstream for spawning and other needs. Conversely, downstream migration is a characteristic of early life stages [1]. A fish ladder is a waterway that allows one or more fish species to cross a specific obstacle. These structures are constructed near detour dams and other transverse structures that have prevented such migration by allowing fish to overcome obstacles [2]. The flow pattern in fish ladders influences safe and comfortable passage for ascending fish. The flow’s strong turbulence can reduce the fish’s speed, injure them, and delay or prevent them from exiting the fish ladder. In adult fish, spawning migrations are usually complex, and delays are critical to reproductive success [3].

Various fish ladders/fishways include vertical slots, denil, rock ramps, and pool weirs [1]. The choice of fish ladder usually depends on many factors, including water elevation, space available for construction, and fish species. Pool and weir structures are among the most important fish ladders that help fish overcome obstacles in streams or rivers and swim upstream [1]. Because they are easy to construct and maintain, this type of fish ladder has received considerable attention from researchers and practitioners. Such a fish ladder consists of a sloping-floor channel with series of pools directly separated by a series of weirs [4]. These fish ladders, with or without underwater openings, are generally well-suited for slopes of 10% or less [1, 2]. Within these pools, flow velocities are low and provide resting areas for fish after they enter the fish ladder. After resting in the pools, fish overcome these weirs by blasting or jumping over them [2]. There may also be an opening in the flooded portion of the weir through which the fish can swim instead of jumping over the weir. Design parameters such as the length of the pool, the height of the weir, the slope of the bottom, and the water discharge are the most important factors in determining the hydraulic structure of this type of fish ladder [3]. The flow over the weir depends on the flow depth at a given slope S0 and the pool length, either “plunging” or “streaming.” In plunging flow, the water column h over each weir creates a water jet that releases energy through turbulent mixing and diffusion mechanisms [5]. The dimensionless discharges for plunging (Q+) and streaming (Q*) flows are shown in Fig. 1, where Q is the total discharge, B is the width of the channel, w is the weir height, S₀ is the slope of the bottom, h is the water depth above the weir, d is the flow depth, and g is the acceleration due to gravity. The maximum velocity occurs near the top of the weir for plunging flow. At the water’s surface, it drops to about half [6].

Extensive experimental studies have been conducted to investigate flow patterns for various physical geometries (i.e., bed slope, pool length, and weir height) [2]. Guiny et al. [7] modified the standard design by adding vertical slots, orifices, and weirs in fishways. The efficiency of the orifices and vertical slots was related to the velocities at their entrances. In the laboratory experiments of Yagci [8], the three-dimensional (3D) mean flow and turbulence structure of a pool weir fishway combined with an orifice and a slot is investigated. It is shown that the energy dissipation per unit volume and the discharge have a linear relationship.

Considering the beneficial characteristics reported in the limited studies of researchers on the labyrinth weir in the pool-weir-type fishway, and knowing that the characteristics of flow in pool-weir-type fishways are highly dependent on the geometry of the weir, an alternative design of the rectangular labyrinth weir instead of the straight weirs in the pool-weir-type fishway is investigated in this study [7, 9]. Kim [10] conducted experiments to compare the hydraulic characteristics of three different weir types in a pool-weir-type fishway. The results show that a straight, rectangular weir with a notch is preferable to a zigzag or trapezoidal weir. Studies on natural fish passes show that pass ability can be improved by lengthening the weir’s crest [7]. Zhong et al. [11] investigated the semi-rigid weir’s hydraulic performance in the fishway’s flow field with a pool weir. The results showed that this type of fishway performed better with a lower invert slope and a smaller radius ratio but with a larger pool spacing.

Considering that an alternative method to study the flow characteristics in a fishway with a pool weir is based on numerical methods and modeling from computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which can easily change the geometry of the fishway for different flow fields, this study uses the powerful package CFD and the software FLOW-3D to evaluate the proposed weir design and compare it with the conventional one to extend the application of the fishway. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the hydraulic performance of the rectangular labyrinth pool and the weir with submerged openings in different hydraulic configurations. The primary objective of creating a new weir configuration for suitable flow patterns is evaluated based on the swimming capabilities of different fish species. Specifically, the following questions will be answered: (a) How do the various hydraulic and geometric parameters relate to the effects of water velocity and turbulence, expressed as turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and turbulence intensity (TI) within the fishway, i.e., are conventional weirs more affected by hydraulics than rectangular labyrinth weirs? (b) Which weir configurations have the greatest effect on fish performance in the fishway? (c) In the presence of an orifice plate, does the performance of each weir configuration differ with different weir spacing, bed gradients, and flow regimes from that without an orifice plate?

2 Materials and Methods

2.1 Physical Model Configuration

This paper focuses on Ead et al. [6]’s laboratory experiments as a reference, testing ten pool weirs (Fig. 2). The experimental flume was 6 m long, 0.56 m wide, and 0.6 m high, with a bottom slope of 10%. Field measurements were made at steady flow with a maximum flow rate of 0.165 m³/s. Discharge was measured with magnetic flow meters in the inlets and water level with point meters (see Ead et al. [6]. for more details). Table 1 summarizes the experimental conditions considered for model calibration in this study.

Table 1 Experimental conditions considered for calibration

2.2 Numerical Models

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed using FLOW-3D® v11.2 to validate a series of experimental liner pool weirs by Ead et al. [6] and to investigate the effects of the rectangular labyrinth pool weir with an orifice. The dimensions of the channel and data collection areas in the numerical models are the same as those of the laboratory model. Two types of pool weirs were considered: conventional and labyrinth. The proposed rectangular labyrinth pool weirs have a symmetrical cross section and are sized to fit within the experimental channel. The conventional pool weir model had a pool length of l = 0.685 and 0.342 m, a weir height of w = 0.141 m, a weir width of B = 0.56 m, and a channel slope of S₀ = 5 and 10%. The rectangular labyrinth weirs have the same front width as the offset, i.e., a = b = c = 0.186 m. A square underwater opening with a width of 0.05 m and a depth of 0.05 m was created in the middle of the weir. The weir configuration considered in the present study is shown in Fig. 3.

2.3 Governing Equations

FLOW-3D® software solves the Navier–Stokes–Reynolds equations for three-dimensional analysis of incompressible flows using the fluid-volume method on a gridded domain. FLOW -3D® uses an advanced free surface flow tracking algorithm (TruVOF) developed by Hirt and Nichols [12], where fluid configurations are defined in terms of a VOF function F (x, y, z, t). In this case, F (fluid fraction) represents the volume fraction occupied by the fluid: F = 1 in cells filled with fluid and F = 0 in cells without fluid (empty areas) [4, 13]. The free surface area is at an intermediate value of F. (Typically, F = 0.5, but the user can specify a different intermediate value.) The equations in Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z) applicable to the model are as follows:

�f∂�∂�+∂(��x)∂�+∂(��y)∂�+∂(��z)∂�=�SOR

(1)

∂�∂�+1�f(��x∂�∂�+��y∂�∂�+��z∂�∂�)=−1�∂�∂�+�x+�x

(2)

∂�∂�+1�f(��x∂�∂�+��y∂�∂�+��z∂�∂�)=−1�∂�∂�+�y+�y

(3)

∂�∂�+1�f(��x∂�∂�+��y∂�∂�+��z∂�∂�)=−1�∂�∂�+�z+�z

(4)

where (u, v, w) are the velocity components, (A_x, A_y, A_z) are the flow area components, (G_x, G_y, G_z) are the mass accelerations, and (f_x, f_y, f_z) are the viscous accelerations in the directions (x, y, z), ρ is the fluid density, R_SOR is the spring term, V_f is the volume fraction associated with the flow, and P is the pressure. The k–ε turbulence model (RNG) was used in this study to solve the turbulence of the flow field. This model is a modified version of the standard k–ε model that improves performance. The model is a two-equation model; the first equation (Eq. 5) expresses the turbulence’s energy, called turbulent kinetic energy (k) [14]. The second equation (Eq. 6) is the turbulent dissipation rate (ε), which determines the rate of dissipation of kinetic energy [15]. These equations are expressed as follows Dasineh et al. [4]:

∂(��)∂�+∂(��)∂��=∂∂��[��∂�∂��]+��−�ε

(5)

∂(�ε)∂�+∂(�ε��)∂��=∂∂��[�ε�eff∂ε∂��]+�1εε��k−�2ε�ε2�

(6)

In these equations, k is the turbulent kinetic energy, ε is the turbulent energy consumption rate, G_k is the generation of turbulent kinetic energy by the average velocity gradient, with empirical constants α_ε = α_k = 1.39, C_1ε = 1.42, and C_2ε = 1.68, eff is the effective viscosity, μ_eff = μ + μ_t [15]. Here, μ is the hydrodynamic density coefficient, and μ_t is the turbulent density of the fluid.

2.4 Meshing and the Boundary Conditions in the Model Setup

The numerical area is divided into three mesh blocks in the X-direction. The meshes are divided into different sizes, a containing mesh block for the entire spatial domain and a nested block with refined cells for the domain of interest. Three different sizes were selected for each of the grid blocks. By comparing the accuracy of their results based on the experimental data, the reasonable mesh for the solution domain was finally selected. The convergence index method (GCI) evaluated the mesh sensitivity analysis. Based on this method, many researchers, such as Ahmadi et al. [16] and Ahmadi et al. [15], have studied the independence of numerical results from mesh size. Three different mesh sizes with a refinement ratio (r) of 1.33 were used to perform the convergence index method. The refinement ratio is the ratio between the larger and smaller mesh sizes (r = G_coarse/G_fine). According to the recommendation of Celik et al. [17], the recommended number for the refinement ratio is 1.3, which gives acceptable results. Table 2 shows the characteristics of the three mesh sizes selected for mesh sensitivity analysis.Table 2 Characteristics of the meshes tested in the convergence analysis

The results of u₁ = u_max (u₁ = velocity component along the x₁ axis and u_max = maximum velocity of u₁ in a section perpendicular to the invert of the fishway) at Q = 0.035 m³/s, × 1/l = 0.66, and Y₁/b = 0 in the pool of conventional weir No. 4, obtained from the output results of the software, were used to evaluate the accuracy of the calculation range. As shown in Fig. 4, x₁ = the distance from a given weir in the x-direction, Y₁ = the water depth measured in the y-direction, Y₀ = the vertical distance in the Cartesian coordinate system, h = the water column at the crest, b = the distance between the two points of maximum velocity u_max and zero velocity, and l = the pool length.

The apparent index of convergence (p) in the GCI method is calculated as follows:

�=ln⁡(�3−�2)(�2−�1)/ln⁡(�)

(7)

f₁, f₂, and f₃ are the hydraulic parameters obtained from the numerical simulation (f₁ corresponds to the small mesh), and r is the refinement ratio. The following equation defines the convergence index of the fine mesh:

GCIfine=1.25|ε|��−1

(8)

Here, ε = (f₂ − f₁)/f₁ is the relative error, and f₂ and f₃ are the values of hydraulic parameters considered for medium and small grids, respectively. GCI₁₂ and GCI₂₃ dimensionless indices can be calculated as:

GCI12=1.25|�2−�1�1|��−1

(9)

Then, the independence of the network is preserved. The convergence index of the network parameters obtained by Eqs. (7)–(9) for all three network variables is shown in Table 3. Since the GCI values for the smaller grid (GCI₁₂) are lower compared to coarse grid (GCI₂₃), it can be concluded that the independence of the grid is almost achieved. No further change in the grid size of the solution domain is required. The calculated values (GCI₂₃/r^pGCI₁₂) are close to 1, which shows that the numerical results obtained are within the convergence range. As a result, the meshing of the solution domain consisting of a block mesh with a mesh size of 0.012 m and a block mesh within a larger block mesh with a mesh size of 0.009 m was selected as the optimal mesh (Fig. 5).Table 3 GCI calculation

The boundary conditions applied to the area are shown in Fig. 6. The boundary condition of specific flow rate (volume flow rate-Q) was used for the inlet of the flow. For the downstream boundary, the flow output (outflow-O) condition did not affect the flow in the solution area. For the Z_max boundary, the specified pressure boundary condition was used along with the fluid fraction = 0 (P). This type of boundary condition considers free surface or atmospheric pressure conditions (Ghaderi et al. [19]). The wall boundary condition is defined for the bottom of the channel, which acts like a virtual wall without friction (W). The boundary between mesh blocks and walls were considered a symmetrical condition (S).

The convergence of the steady-state solutions was controlled during the simulations by monitoring the changes in discharge at the inlet boundary conditions. Figure 7 shows the time series plots of the discharge obtained from the Model A for the three main discharges from the numerical results. The 8 s to reach the flow equilibrium is suitable for the case of the fish ladder with pool and weir. Almost all discharge fluctuations in the models are insignificant in time, and the flow has reached relative stability. The computation time for the simulations was between 6 and 8 h using a personal computer with eight cores of a CPU (Intel Core i7-7700K @ 4.20 GHz and 16 GB RAM).

3 Results

3.1 Verification of Numerical Results

Quantitative outcomes, including free surface and normalized velocity profiles obtained using FLOW-3D software, were reviewed and compared with the results of Ead et al. [6]. The fourth pool was selected to present the results and compare the experiment and simulation. For each quantity, the percentage of mean absolute error (MAPE (%)) and root-mean-square error (RMSE) are calculated. Equations (10) and (11) show the method used to calculate the errors.

MAPE(%)100×1�∑1�|�exp−�num�exp|

(10)

RMSE(−)1�∑1�(�exp−�num)2

(11)

Here, X_exp is the value of the laboratory data, X_num is the numerical data value, and n is the amount of data. As shown in Fig. 8, let x₁ = distance from a given weir in the x-direction and Y₁ = water depth in the y-direction from the bottom. The trend of the surface profiles for each of the numerical results is the same as that of the laboratory results. The surface profiles of the plunging flows drop after the flow enters and then rises to approach the next weir. The RMSE and MAPE error values for Model A are 0.014 m and 3.11%, respectively, indicating acceptable agreement between numerical and laboratory results. Figure 9 shows the velocity vectors and plunging flow from the numerical results, where x and y are horizontal and vertical to the flow direction, respectively. It can be seen that the jet in the fish ladder pool has a relatively high velocity. The two vortices, i.e., the enclosed vortex rotating clockwise behind the weir and the surface vortex rotating counterclockwise above the jet, are observed for the regime of incident flow. The point where the jet meets the fish passage bed is shown in the figure. The normalized velocity profiles upstream and downstream of the impact points are shown in Fig. 10. The figure shows that the numerical results agree well with the experimental data of Ead et al. [6].

3.2 Flow Regime and Discharge-Depth Relationship

Depending on the geometric shape of the fishway, including the distance of the weir, the slope of the bottom, the height of the weir, and the flow conditions, the flow regime in the fishway is divided into three categories: dipping, transitional, and flow regimes [4]. In the plunging flow regime, the flow enters the pool through the weir, impacts the bottom of the fishway, and forms a hydraulic jump causing two eddies [2, 20]. In the streamwise flow regime, the surface of the flow passing over the weir is almost parallel to the bottom of the channel. The transitional regime has intermediate flow characteristics between the submerged and flow regimes. To predict the flow regime created in the fishway, Ead et al. [6] proposed two dimensionless parameters, Q_t* and L/w, where Q_t* is the dimensionless discharge, L is the distance between weirs, and w is the height of the weir:

��∗=��0��

(12)

Q is the total discharge, B is the width of the channel, S₀ is the slope of the bed, and g is the gravity acceleration. Figure 11 shows different ranges for each flow regime based on the slope of the bed and the distance between the pools in this study. The results of Baki et al. [21], Ead et al. [6] and Dizabadi et al. [22] were used for this comparison. The distance between the pools affects the changes in the regime of the fish ladder. So, if you decrease the distance between weirs, the flow regime more likely becomes. This study determined all three flow regimes in a fish ladder. When the corresponding range of Q_t* is less than 0.6, the flow regime can dip at values of L/B = 1.83. If the corresponding range of Q_t* is greater than 0.5, transitional flow may occur at L/B = 1.22. On the other hand, when Q_t* is greater than 1, streamwise flow can occur at values of L/B = 0.61. These observations agree well with the results of Baki et al. [21], Ead et al. [6] and Dizabadi et al. [22].

For plunging flows, another dimensionless discharge (Q+) versus h/w given by Ead et al. [6] was used for further evaluation:

�+=��ℎ�ℎ=23�d�

(13)

where h is the water depth above the weir, and C_d is the discharge coefficient. Figure 12a compares the numerical and experimental results of Ead et al. [6]. In this figure, Rehbock’s empirical equation is used to estimate the discharge coefficient of Ead et al. [6].

�d=0.57+0.075ℎ�

(14)

The numerical results for the conventional weir (Model A) and the rectangular labyrinth weir (Model B) of this study agree well with the laboratory results of Ead et al. [6]. When comparing models A and B, it is also found that a rectangular labyrinth weir has larger Q + values than the conventional weir as the length of the weir crest increases for a given channel width and fixed headwater elevation. In Fig. 12b, Models A and B’s flow depth plot shows the plunging flow regime. The power trend lines drawn through the data are the best-fit lines. The data shown in Fig. 12b are for different bed slopes and weir geometries. For the conventional weir and the rectangular labyrinth weir at submerged flow, Q can be assumed to be proportional to 1.56 and 1.47h, respectively. In the results of Ead et al. [6], Q is proportional to 1.5h. If we assume that the flow through the orifice is Q_o and the total outflow is Q, the change in the ratio of Q_o/Q to total outflow for models A and B can be shown in Fig. 13. For both models, the flow through the orifice decreases as the total flow increases. A logarithmic trend line was also found between the total outflow and the dimensionless ratio Q_o/Q.

3.3 Depth-Averaged Velocity Distributions

To ensure that the target fish species can pass the fish ladder with maximum efficiency, the average velocity in the fish ladder should be low enough [4]. Therefore, the average velocity in depth should be as much as possible below the critical swimming velocities of the target fishes at a constant flow depth in the pool [20]. The contour plot of depth-averaged velocity was used instead of another direction, such as longitudinal velocity because fish are more sensitive to depth-averaged flow velocity than to its direction under different hydraulic conditions. Figure 14 shows the distribution of depth-averaged velocity in the pool for Models A and B in two cases with and without orifice plates. Model A’s velocity within the pool differs slightly in the spanwise direction. However, no significant variation in velocity was observed. The flow is gradually directed to the sides as it passes through the rectangular labyrinth weir. This increases the velocity at the sides of the channel. Therefore, the high-velocity zone is located at the sides. The low velocity is in the downstream apex of the weir. This area may be suitable for swimming target fish. The presence of an opening in the weir increases the flow velocity at the opening and in the pool’s center, especially in Model A. The flow velocity increase caused by the models’ opening varied from 7.7 to 12.48%. Figure 15 illustrates the effect of the inverted slope on the averaged depth velocity distribution in the pool at low and high discharge. At constant discharge, flow velocity increases with increasing bed slope. In general, high flow velocity was found in the weir toe sidewall and the weir and channel sidewalls.

On the other hand, for a constant bed slope, the high-velocity area of the pool increases due to the increase in runoff. For both bed slopes and different discharges, the most appropriate path for fish to travel from upstream to downstream is through the middle of the cross section and along the top of the rectangular labyrinth weirs. The maximum dominant velocities for Model B at S₀ = 5% were 0.83 and 1.01 m/s; at S₀ = 10%, they were 1.12 and 1.61 m/s at low and high flows, respectively. The low mean velocities for the same distance and S₀ = 5 and 10% were 0.17 and 0.26 m/s, respectively.

Figure 16 shows the contour of the averaged depth velocity for various distances from the weir at low and high discharge. The contour plot shows a large variation in velocity within short distances from the weir. At L/B = 0.61, velocities are low upstream and downstream of the top of the weir. The high velocities occur in the side walls of the weir and the channel. At L/B = 1.22, the low-velocity zone displaces the higher velocity in most of the pool. Higher velocities were found only on the sides of the channel. As the discharge increases, the velocity zone in the pool becomes wider. At L/B = 1.83, there is an area of higher velocities only upstream of the crest and on the sides of the weir. At high discharge, the prevailing maximum velocities for L/B = 0.61, 1.22, and 1.83 were 1.46, 1.65, and 1.84 m/s, respectively. As the distance between weirs increases, the range of maximum velocity increases.

On the other hand, the low mean velocity for these distances was 0.27, 0.44, and 0.72 m/s, respectively. Thus, the low-velocity zone decreases with increasing distance between weirs. Figure 17 shows the pattern distribution of streamlines along with the velocity contour at various distances from the weir for Q = 0.05 m³/s. A stream-like flow is generally formed in the pool at a small distance between weirs (L/B = 0.61). The rotation cell under the jet forms clockwise between the two weirs. At the distances between the spillways (L/B = 1.22), the transition regime of the flow is formed. The transition regime occurs when or shortly after the weir is flooded. The rotation cell under the jet is clockwise smaller than the flow regime and larger than the submergence regime. At a distance L/B = 1.83, a plunging flow is formed so that the plunging jet dips into the pool and extends downstream to the center of the pool. The clockwise rotation of the cell is bounded by the dipping jet of the weir and is located between the bottom and the side walls of the weir and the channel.

Figure 18 shows the average depth velocity bar graph for each weir at different bed slopes and with and without orifice plates. As the distance between weirs increases, all models’ average depth velocity increases. As the slope of the bottom increases and an orifice plate is present, the average depth velocity in the pool increases. In addition, the average pool depth velocity increases as the discharge increases. Among the models, Model A’s average depth velocity is higher than Model B’s. The variation in velocity ranged from 8.11 to 12.24% for the models without an orifice plate and from 10.26 to 16.87% for the models with an orifice plate.

3.4 Turbulence Characteristics

The turbulent kinetic energy is one of the important parameters reflecting the turbulent properties of the flow field [23]. When the k value is high, more energy and a longer transit time are required to migrate the target species. The turbulent kinetic energy is defined as follows:

�=12(�x′2+�y′2+�z′2)

(15)

where u_x, u_y, and u_z are fluctuating velocities in the x, y, and z directions, respectively. An illustration of the TKE and the effects of the geometric arrangement of the weir and the presence of an opening in the weir is shown in Fig. 19. For a given bed slope, in Model A, the highest TKE values are uniformly distributed in the weir’s upstream portion in the channel’s cross section. In contrast, for the rectangular labyrinth weir (Model B), the highest TKE values are concentrated on the sides of the pool between the crest of the weir and the channel wall. The highest TKE value in Models A and B is 0.224 and 0.278 J/kg, respectively, at the highest bottom slope (S₀ = 10%). In the downstream portion of the conventional weir and within the crest of the weir and the walls of the rectangular labyrinth, there was a much lower TKE value that provided the best conditions for fish to recover in the pool between the weirs. The average of the lowest TKE for bottom slopes of 5 and 10% in Model A is 0.041 and 0.056 J/kg, and for Model B, is 0.047 and 0.064 J/kg. The presence of an opening in the weirs reduces the area of the highest TKE within the pool. It also increases the resting areas for fish (lower TKE). The highest TKE at the highest bottom slope in Models A and B with an orifice is 0.208 and 0.191 J/kg, respectively.

Figure 20 shows the effect of slope on the longitudinal distribution of TKE in the pools. TKE values significantly increase for a given discharge with an increasing bottom slope. Thus, for a low bed slope (S₀ = 5%), a large pool area has expanded with average values of 0.131 and 0.168 J/kg for low and high discharge, respectively. For a bed slope of S₀ = 10%, the average TKE values are 0.176 and 0.234 J/kg. Furthermore, as the discharge increases, the area with high TKE values within the pool increases. Lower TKE values are observed at the apex of the labyrinth weir, at the corner of the wall downstream of the weir, and between the side walls of the weir and the channel wall for both bottom slopes. The effect of distance between weirs on TKE is shown in Fig. 21. Low TKE values were observed at low discharge and short distances between weirs. Low TKE values are located at the top of the rectangular labyrinth weir and the downstream corner of the weir wall. There is a maximum value of TKE at the large distances between weirs, L/B = 1.83, along the center line of the pool, where the dip jet meets the bottom of the bed. At high discharge, the maximum TKE value for the distance L/B = 0.61, 1.22, and 1.83 was 0.246, 0.322, and 0.417 J/kg, respectively. In addition, the maximum TKE range increases with the distance between weirs.

For TKE size, the average value (TKE_ave) is plotted against q in Fig. 22. For all models, the TKE values increase with increasing q. For example, in models A and B with L/B = 0.61 and a slope of 10%, the TKE value increases by 41.66 and 86.95%, respectively, as q increases from 0.1 to 0.27 m²/s. The TKE values in Model B are higher than Model A for a given discharge, bed slope, and weir distance. The TKE_ave in Model B is higher compared to Model A, ranging from 31.46 to 57.94%. The presence of an orifice in the weir reduces the TKE values in both weirs. The intensity of the reduction is greater in Model B. For example, in Models A and B with L/B = 0.61 and q = 0.1 m²/s, an orifice reduces TKE_ave values by 60.35 and 19.04%, respectively. For each model, increasing the bed slope increases the TKE_ave values in the pool. For example, for Model B with q = 0.18 m²/s, increasing the bed slope from 5 to 10% increases the TKE_ave value by 14.34%. Increasing the distance between weirs increases the TKE_ave values in the pool. For example, in Model B with S₀ = 10% and q = 0.3 m²/s, the TKE_ave in the pool increases by 34.22% if you increase the distance between weirs from L/B = 0.61 to L/B = 0.183.

Cotel et al. [24] suggested that turbulence intensity (TI) is a suitable parameter for studying fish swimming performance. Figure 23 shows the plot of TI and the effects of the geometric arrangement of the weir and the presence of an orifice. In Model A, the highest TI values are found upstream of the weirs and are evenly distributed across the cross section of the channel. The TI values increase as you move upstream to downstream in the pool. For the rectangular labyrinth weir, the highest TI values were concentrated on the sides of the pool, between the top of the weir and the side wall of the channel, and along the top of the weir. Downstream of the conventional weir, within the apex of the weir, and at the corners of the walls of the rectangular labyrinth weir, the percentage of TI was low. At the highest discharge, the average range of TI in Models A and B was 24–45% and 15–62%, respectively. The diversity of TI is greater in the rectangular labyrinth weir than the conventional weir. Fish swimming performance is reduced due to higher turbulence intensity. However, fish species may prefer different disturbance intensities depending on their swimming abilities; for example, Salmo trutta prefers a disturbance intensity of 18–53% [25]. Kupferschmidt and Zhu [26] found a higher range of TI for fishways, such as natural rock weirs, of 40–60%. The presence of an orifice in the weir increases TI values within the pool, especially along the middle portion of the cross section of the fishway. With an orifice in the weir, the average range of TI in Models A and B was 28–59% and 22–73%, respectively.

The effect of bed slope on TI variation is shown in Fig. 24. TI increases in different pool areas as the bed slope increases for a given discharge. For a low bed slope (S₀ = 5%), a large pool area has increased from 38 to 63% and from 56 to 71% for low and high discharge, respectively. For a bed slope of S₀ = 10%, the average values of TI are 45–67% and 61–73% for low and high discharge, respectively. Therefore, as runoff increases, the area with high TI values within the pool increases. A lower TI is observed for both bottom slopes in the corner of the wall, downstream of the crest walls, and between the side walls in the weir and channel. Figure 25 compares weir spacing with the distribution of TI values within the pool. The TI values are low at low flows and short distances between weirs. A maximum value of TI occurs at long spacing and where the plunging stream impinges on the bed and the area around the bed. TI ranges from 36 to 57%, 58–72%, and 47–76% for the highest flow in a wide pool area for L/B = 0.61, 1.22, and 1.83, respectively.

The average value of turbulence intensity (TI_ave) is plotted against q in Fig. 26. The increase in TI values with the increase in q values is seen in all models. For example, the average values of TI for Models A and B at L/B = 0.61 and slope of 10% increased from 23.9 to 33.5% and from 42 to 51.8%, respectively, with the increase in q from 0.1 to 0.27 m²/s. For a given discharge, a given gradient, and a given spacing of weirs, the TI_ave is higher in Model B than Model A. The presence of an orifice in the weirs increases the TI values in both types. For example, in Models A and B with L/B = 0.61 and q = 0.1 m²/s, the presence of an orifice increases TI_ave from 23.9 to 37.1% and from 42 to 48.8%, respectively. For each model, TI_ave in the pool increases with increasing bed slope. For Model B with q = 0.18 m²/s, TI_ave increases from 37.5 to 45.8% when you increase the invert slope from 5 to 10%. Increasing the distance between weirs increases the TI_ave in the pool. In Model B with S₀ = 10% and q = 0.3 m²/s, the TI_ave in the pool increases from 51.8 to 63.7% as the distance between weirs increases from L/B = 0.61 to L/B = 0.183.

3.5 Energy Dissipation

To facilitate the passage of various target species through the pool of fishways, it is necessary to pay attention to the energy dissipation of the flow and to keep the flow velocity in the pool slow. The average volumetric energy dissipation (k) in the pool is calculated using the following basic formula:

�=��0��

(16)

where ρ is the water density, and H is the average water depth of the pool. The change in k versus Q for all models at two bottom slopes, S₀ = 5%, and S₀ = 10%, is shown in Fig. 27. Like the results of Yagci [8] and Kupferschmidt and Zhu [26], at a constant bottom slope, the energy dissipation in the pool increases with increasing discharge. The trend of change in k as a function of Q from the present study at a bottom gradient of S₀ = 5% is also consistent with the results of Kupferschmidt and Zhu [26] for the fishway with rock weir. The only difference between the results is the geometry of the fishway and the combination of boulders instead of a solid wall. Comparison of the models shows that the conventional model has lower energy dissipation than the rectangular labyrinth for a given discharge. Also, increasing the distance between weirs decreases the volumetric energy dissipation for each model with the same bed slope. Increasing the slope of the bottom leads to an increase in volumetric energy dissipation, and an opening in the weir leads to a decrease in volumetric energy dissipation for both models. Therefore, as a guideline for volumetric energy dissipation, if the value within the pool is too high, the increased distance of the weir, the decreased slope of the bed, or the creation of an opening in the weir would decrease the volumetric dissipation rate.

To evaluate the energy dissipation inside the pool, the general method of energy difference in two sections can use:

ε=�1−�2�1

(17)

where ε is the energy dissipation rate, and E₁ and E₂ are the specific energies in Sects. 1 and 2, respectively. The distance between Sects. 1 and 2 is the same. (L is the distance between two upstream and downstream weirs.) Figure 28 shows the changes in ε relative to q (flow per unit width). The rectangular labyrinth weir (Model B) has a higher energy dissipation rate than the conventional weir (Model A) at a constant bottom gradient. For example, at S₀ = 5%, L/B = 0.61, and q = 0.08 m³/s.m, the energy dissipation rate in Model A (conventional weir) was 0.261. In Model B (rectangular labyrinth weir), however, it was 0.338 (22.75% increase). For each model, the energy dissipation rate within the pool increases as the slope of the bottom increases. For Model B with L/B = 1.83 and q = 0.178 m³/s.m, the energy dissipation rate at S₀ = 5% and 10% is 0.305 and 0.358, respectively (14.8% increase). Figure 29 shows an orifice’s effect on the pools’ energy dissipation rate. With an orifice in the weir, both models’ energy dissipation rates decreased. Thus, the reduction in energy dissipation rate varied from 7.32 to 9.48% for Model A and from 8.46 to 10.57 for Model B.

4 Discussion

This study consisted of entirely of numerical analysis. Although this study was limited to two weirs, the hydraulic performance and flow characteristics in a pooled fishway are highlighted by the rectangular labyrinth weir and its comparison with the conventional straight weir. The study compared the numerical simulations with laboratory experiments in terms of surface profiles, velocity vectors, and flow characteristics in a fish ladder pool. The results indicate agreement between the numerical and laboratory data, supporting the reliability of the numerical model in capturing the observed phenomena.

When the configuration of the weir changes to a rectangular labyrinth weir, the flow characteristics, the maximum and minimum area, and even the location of each hydraulic parameter change compared to a conventional weir. In the rectangular labyrinth weir, the flow is gradually directed to the sides as it passes the weir. This increases the velocity at the sides of the channel [21]. Therefore, the high-velocity area is located on the sides. In the downstream apex of the weir, the flow velocity is low, and this area may be suitable for swimming target fish. However, no significant change in velocity was observed at the conventional weir within the fish ladder. This resulted in an average increase in TKE of 32% and an average increase in TI of about 17% compared to conventional weirs.

In addition, there is a slight difference in the flow regime for both weir configurations. In addition, the rectangular labyrinth weir has a higher energy dissipation rate for a given discharge and constant bottom slope than the conventional weir. By reducing the distance between the weirs, this becomes even more intense. Finally, the presence of an orifice in both configurations of the weir increased the flow velocity at the orifice and in the middle of the pool, reducing the highest TKE value and increasing the values of TI within the pool of the fish ladder. This resulted in a reduction in volumetric energy dissipation for both weir configurations.

The results of this study will help the reader understand the direct effects of the governing geometric parameters on the hydraulic characteristics of a fishway with a pool and weir. However, due to the limited configurations of the study, further investigation is needed to evaluate the position of the weir’s crest on the flow direction and the difference in flow characteristics when combining boulders instead of a solid wall for this type of labyrinth weir [26]. In addition, hydraulic engineers and biologists must work together to design an effective fishway with rectangular labyrinth configurations. The migration habits of the target species should be considered when designing the most appropriate design [27]. Parametric studies and field observations are recommended to determine the perfect design criteria.

The current study focused on comparing a rectangular labyrinth weir with a conventional straight weir. Further research can explore other weir configurations, such as variations in crest position, different shapes of labyrinth weirs, or the use of boulders instead of solid walls. This would help understand the influence of different geometric parameters on hydraulic characteristics.

5 Conclusions

A new layout of the weir was evaluated, namely a rectangular labyrinth weir compared to a straight weir in a pool and weir system. The differences between the weirs were highlighted, particularly how variations in the geometry of the structures, such as the shape of the weir, the spacing of the weir, the presence of an opening at the weir, and the slope of the bottom, affect the hydraulics within the structures. The main findings of this study are as follows:

The calculated dimensionless discharge (Q_t*) confirmed three different flow regimes: when the corresponding range of Q_t* is smaller than 0.6, the regime of plunging flow occurs for values of L/B = 1.83. (L: distance of the weir; B: channel width). When the corresponding range of Q_t* is greater than 0.5, transitional flow occurs at L/B = 1.22. On the other hand, if Q_t* is greater than 1, the streaming flow is at values of L/B = 0.61.
For the conventional weir and the rectangular labyrinth weir with the plunging flow, it can be assumed that the discharge (Q) is proportional to 1.56 and 1.47h, respectively (h: water depth above the weir). This information is useful for estimating the discharge based on water depth in practical applications.
In the rectangular labyrinth weir, the high-velocity zone is located on the side walls between the top of the weir and the channel wall. A high-velocity variation within short distances of the weir. Low velocity occurs within the downstream apex of the weir. This area may be suitable for swimming target fish.
As the distance between weirs increased, the zone of maximum velocity increased. However, the zone of low speed decreased. The prevailing maximum velocity for a rectangular labyrinth weir at L/B = 0.61, 1.22, and 1.83 was 1.46, 1.65, and 1.84 m/s, respectively. The low mean velocities for these distances were 0.27, 0.44, and 0.72 m/s, respectively. This finding highlights the importance of weir spacing in determining the flow characteristics within the fishway.
The presence of an orifice in the weir increased the flow velocity at the orifice and in the middle of the pool, especially in a conventional weir. The increase ranged from 7.7 to 12.48%.
For a given bottom slope, in a conventional weir, the highest values of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) are uniformly distributed in the upstream part of the weir in the cross section of the channel. In contrast, for the rectangular labyrinth weir, the highest TKE values were concentrated on the sides of the pool between the crest of the weir and the channel wall. The highest TKE value for the conventional and the rectangular labyrinth weir was 0.224 and 0.278 J/kg, respectively, at the highest bottom slope (S₀ = 10%).
For a given discharge, bottom slope, and weir spacing, the average values of TI are higher for the rectangular labyrinth weir than for the conventional weir. At the highest discharge, the average range of turbulence intensity (TI) for the conventional and rectangular labyrinth weirs was between 24 and 45% and 15% and 62%, respectively. This reveals that the rectangular labyrinth weir may generate more turbulent flow conditions within the fishway.
For a given discharge and constant bottom slope, the rectangular labyrinth weir has a higher energy dissipation rate than the conventional weir (22.75 and 34.86%).
Increasing the distance between weirs decreased volumetric energy dissipation. However, increasing the gradient increased volumetric energy dissipation. The presence of an opening in the weir resulted in a decrease in volumetric energy dissipation for both model types.

Availability of data and materials

Data is contained within the article.

References

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Figure 4. Rectangular stepped spillway with (a) three baffle arrangement (b) five baffle arrangement

Prediction of Energy Dissipation over Stepped Spillwaywith Baffles Using Machine Learning Techniques

Saurabh Pujari*
, Vijay Kaushik, S. Anbu Kumar
Department of Civil Engineering, Delhi Technological University, India
Received February 23, 2023; Revised April 25, 2023; Accepted June 11, 2023
Cite This Paper in the Following Citation Styles
(a): [1] Saurabh Pujari, Vijay Kaushik, S. Anbu Kumar , “Prediction of Energy Dissipation over Stepped Spillway with
Baffles Using Machine Learning Techniques,” Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol. 11, No. 5, pp. 2377 – 2391, 2023.
DOI: 10.13189/cea.2023.110510.
(b): Saurabh Pujari, Vijay Kaushik, S. Anbu Kumar (2023). Prediction of Energy Dissipation over Stepped Spillway with
Baffles Using Machine Learning Techniques. Civil Engineering and Architecture, 11(5), 2377 – 2391. DOI:
10.13189/cea.2023.110510.
Copyright©2023 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License

Abstract

In river engineering, the stepped spillway of a dam is an important component that may be used in various ways. It is necessary to conduct research dealing with flood control in order to investigate the method, in which energy is lost along the tiered spillways. In the past, several research projects on stepped spillways without baffles have been carried out utilizing a range of research approaches. In the present study, machine learning techniques such as Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Regression Tree (RT) are used to analyze the energy dissipation on rectangular stepped spillways that make use of baffles in a variety of configurations and at a range of channel slopes. The results of many experiments indicate that the amount of energy that is lost increases with the number of baffles that are present in flat channels with slopes and rises. In order to evaluate the efficiency and usefulness of the suggested model, the statistical indices that were developed for the experimental research are used to validate the models that were created for the study. The findings indicate that the suggested SVM model properly predicted the amount of energy that was dissipated when contrasted with RT and the method that had been developed in the past. This study verifies the use of machine learning techniques in this industry, and it is unique in that it anticipates energy dissipation along stepped spillways utilizing baffle designs. In addition, this work validates the use of machine learning methods in this field.

Keywords

Rectangular Stepped Spillways, Baffle Arrangements, Channel Slope, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Regression Tree (RT)

Introduction

To regulate water flows downstream of a dam, a spillway structure is employed, with stepped spillways preventing water from overflowing and causing damage to the dam. These spillways consist of a channel with built-in steps or drops. Flow patterns observed include nappe flow, transition flow, and skimming flow [1]. Numerous scholars have looked at the energy dissipation in stepped spillways [2-4]. Boes and Hager [5] looked at the benefits of stepped spillways, such as their simplicity of construction, less danger of cavitation, and smaller stilling basins at downstream dam toes owing to considerable energy loss along the chute. Hazzab and Chafic [7] conducted an experimental study on energy dissipation in stepped spillways and reported on flow configurations. Additionally, the Manksvill dam spillway was examined using a 1:25 scale physical wooden model [6]. For moderately inclined stepped channels, Stefan and Chanson [8] explored air-water flow measurements. Daniel [9] discussed how the existence of steps and step heights affect stepped spillways’ ability to dissipate energy. A comparison of the smooth invert chute flow with the self aerated stepped spillway. The energy dissipation in stepped spillways was investigated using various methods. Katourany [10] compared experimental findings to conventional USBR outcomes to examine the effects of different baffle widths, spacing between baffle rows, and step heights of baffled aprons. Salmasi et al. [11] assessed the energy dissipation of through-flow and over-flow in gabion stepped spillways, discovering that gabion spillways with pervious surfaces dissipated energy more efficiently than those with concrete walls. Other forms of stepped spillways, such as inclined steps and steps with end sills, were also quantitatively studied for energy dissipation [12]. Saedi and Asareh [13] examined how the number of drop stairs affected energy dissipation in stepped drops and suggested using stepped drops to increase energy dissipation by providing flow path roughness. Al-Husseini [14] found that decreasing the number of steps and downstream slopes led to an increase in flow energy dissipation, and that the use of cascade spillways reduced energy dissipation compared to the original step spillway. MARS and ANN methods were used to estimate energy dissipation in flow across stepped spillways under skimming flow conditions, with both models proving reliable [15]. Frederic et al. [16] evaluated the energy dissipation effectiveness and stability of the Mekin Dam spillway by confirming that flow did not result in transitional flow and by calculating safety factors at various intervals. A numerical model was developed to validate a physical model examining the impact of geometrical parameters on the dissipation rate in flows through stepped spillways [17]. The regulation of the rates of dissipation is studied using a particular kind of fuzzy inference system (FIS). The findings are compared with a predefined numerical database to determine the predicted energy dissipation under various circumstances. The findings show that the suggested FIS may be a useful tool for the operational management of dissipator structures while taking various geometric characteristics into account. Nasralla [18] studied the four phases of the spillway and conducted eighteen runs to enhance energy dissipation through the contraction-stepped spillway. The study considered alternative baffle placements, heights, and widths. The results showed that downstream baffles on the stepped spillway of the stilling basin improve energy dissipation. Using the Flow 3D software, Ikinciogullari [19] quantitatively analyzed the energy dissipation capabilities of trapezoidal stepped spillways using four distinct models and three different discharges. The findings showed that trapezoidal stepped spillways are up to 30% more efficient in dissipating energy than traditional stepped spillways. In previous works, only a few machine learning algorithms were used to forecast energy dissipation across a rectangular stepped spillway without baffles. Therefore, this study used machine learning approaches such as Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Regression Tree (RT) to predict energy dissipation across a rectangular stepped spillway with varied rectangular-shaped baffle configurations at different channel slopes. The study compared these models using statistical analysis to assess their efficiency in predicting energy dissipation over rectangular stepped spillways with baffles. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Experimental Setup The experiments were carried out at the Hydraulics laboratory of Delhi Technological University. The tests were performed in a rectangular tilting flume of 8m long, 0.30m wide and 0.40m deep which has a facility to make it horizontal and sloping as well (shown in Figure 1). The flume consists of an inlet section, an outlet section, and a collecting tank at the downstream end which is used to measure the discharge. Figure 2 depicts the model of a rectangular stepped spillway prepared using an acrylic sheet having a width of 0.30m, a height of 0.20m and a base length of 0.40m. A total of four steps were designed with a step height of 0.05m, the step length is 0.10m and rectangular-shaped baffles of length 0.10m and height of 0.05m were arranged in different manner. Figure 3 represents the different baffle arrangements used in the experimental work. At first, the experiment was conducted for no baffle condition. Thereafter the experiment was conducted for the first arrangement of three baffles, in which two baffles were placed at a distance of 0.10m from the toe of the spillway and a distance of 0.10m was maintained between the first two baffles and the third baffle was placed between the first two baffles at a distance of 0.20m from the toe of the spillway (figure 4a). After that, the experiment was conducted for the third arrangement of baffles which consists of five baffles, two more baffles were introduced at a distance of 0.30m from the toe of the spillway and a distance of 0.10m was maintained between them (figure 4b). The baffles used in the experiment were rectangular shaped which had a height of 0.05m and length of 0.10m. The experiments were conducted for five different discharges 2 l/s, 4 l/s, 6 l/s, 8 l/s and 10 l/s. For the purpose of determining the head values both upstream and downstream of the spillway model, a point gauge with a precision of 0.1mm was used. In order to determine the average velocities of the upstream and downstream portions, respectively, a pitot static tube was used in conjunction with a digital manometer.

Figure 2. Dimensions of classical stepped spillway

Figure 3. Arrangements of baffles in classical stepped spillway

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Effects of pile-cap elevation on scour and turbulence around a complex bridge pier

복잡한 교각 주변의 세굴 및 난기류에 대한 말뚝 뚜껑 높이의 영향

ABSTRACT

이 연구에서는 세 가지 다른 말뚝 뚜껑 높이에서 직사각형 말뚝 캡이 있는 복잡한 부두 주변의 지역 세굴 및 관련 흐름 유체 역학을 조사합니다. 말뚝 캡 높이가 초기 모래층에 대해 선택되었으며, 말뚝 캡이 흐름에 노출되지 않고(사례 I), 부분적으로 노출되고(사례 II) 완전히 노출(사례 III)되도록 했습니다. 실험은 맑은 물 세굴 조건 하에서 재순환 수로에서 수행되었으며, 입자 이미지 유속계 (PIV) 기술을 사용하여 다른 수직면에서 순간 유속을 얻었습니다. 부분적으로 노출된 파일 캡 케이스는 최대 수세미 깊이(MSD)를 보여주었습니다. 사례 II에서 MSD가 발생한 이유는 난류 유동장 분석을 통해 밝혀졌는데, 이는 말뚝 캡이 흐름에 노출됨에 따라 더 높은 세굴 깊이를 담당하는 말뚝 가장자리에서 와류 생성에 지배적으로 영향을 미친다는 것을 보여주었습니다. 유동장에 대한 파일 캡의 영향은 평균 속도, 소용돌이, 레이놀즈 전단 응력 및 난류 운동 에너지 윤곽을 통해 사례 III에서 두드러지게 나타났지만 파일 캡이 베드에서 떨어져 있었기 때문에 파일 캡 모서리는 수세미에 직접적인 영향을 미치지 않았습니다.

In this study, the local scour and the associated flow hydrodynamics around a complex pier with rectangular pile-cap at three different pile-cap elevations are investigated. The pile-cap elevations were selected with respect to the initial sand bed, such that the pile-cap was unexposed (case I), partially exposed (case II), and fully exposed (case III) to the flow. The experiments were performed in a recirculating flume under clear-water scour conditions, and the instantaneous flow velocity was obtained at different vertical planes using the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. The partially exposed pile-cap case showed the maximum obtained scour-depth (MSD). The reason behind the MSD occurrence in case II was enunciated through the analysis of turbulent flow field which showed that as the pile-cap got exposed to the flow, it dominantly affected the generation of vortices from the pile-cap corners responsible for the higher scour depth. The effect of the pile-cap on the flow field was prominently seen in case III through the mean velocities, vorticity, Reynolds shear stresses and turbulent kinetic energy contours, but since the pile-cap was away from the bed, the pile-cap corners did not show any direct effect on the scour.

KEYWORDS:

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원문 보기

Strain rate magnitude at the free surface, illustrating Kelvin-Helmoltz (KH) shear instabilities.

On the reef scale hydrodynamics at Sodwana Bay, South Africa

Environmental Fluid Mechanics (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

The hydrodynamics of coral reefs strongly influences their biological functioning, impacting processes such as nutrient availability and uptake, recruitment success and bleaching. For example, coral reefs located in oligotrophic regions depend on upwelling for nutrient supply. Coral reefs at Sodwana Bay, located on the east coast of South Africa, are an example of high latitude marginal reefs. These reefs are subjected to complex hydrodynamic forcings due to the interaction between the strong Agulhas current and the highly variable topography of the region. In this study, we explore the reef scale hydrodynamics resulting from the bathymetry for two steady current scenarios at Two-Mile Reef (TMR) using a combination of field data and numerical simulations. The influence of tides or waves was not considered for this study as well as reef-scale roughness. Tilt current meters with onboard temperature sensors were deployed at selected locations within TMR. We used field observations to identify the dominant flow conditions on the reef for numerical simulations that focused on the hydrodynamics driven by mean currents. During the field campaign, southerly currents were the predominant flow feature with occasional flow reversals to the north. Northerly currents were associated with greater variability towards the southern end of TMR. Numerical simulations showed that Jesser Point was central to the development of flow features for both the northerly and southerly current scenarios. High current variability in the south of TMR during reverse currents is related to the formation of Kelvin-Helmholtz type shear instabilities along the outer edge of an eddy formed north of Jesser Point. Furthermore, downward vertical velocities were computed along the offshore shelf at TMR during southerly currents. Current reversals caused a change in vertical velocities to an upward direction due to the orientation of the bathymetry relative to flow directions.

Highlights

A predominant southerly current was measured at Two-Mile Reef with occasional reversals towards the north.
Field observations indicated that northerly currents are spatially varied along Two-Mile Reef.
Simulation of reverse currents show the formation of a separated flow due to interaction with Jesser Point with Kelvin–Helmholtz type shear instabilities along the seaward edge.

지금까지 Sodwana Bay에서 자세한 암초 규모 유체 역학을 모델링하려는 시도는 없었습니다. 이러한 모델의 결과는 규모가 있는 산호초 사이의 흐름이 산호초 건강에 어떤 영향을 미치는지 탐색하는 데 사용할 수 있습니다. 이 연구에서는 Sodwana Bay의 유체역학을 탐색하는 데 사용할 수 있는 LES 모델을 개발하기 위한 단계별 접근 방식을 구현합니다. 여기서 우리는 이 초기 단계에서 파도와 조수의 영향을 배제하면서 Agulhas 해류의 유체역학에 초점을 맞춥니다. 이 접근법은 흐름의 첫 번째 LES를 제시하고 Sodwana Bay의 산호초에서 혼합함으로써 향후 연구의 기초를 제공합니다.

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Figure 1 | Laboratory channel dimensions.

강화된 조도 계수 및 인버트 레벨 변화가 있는 90도 측면 턴아웃에서의 유동에 대한 실험적 및 수치적 연구

Experimental and numerical study of flow at a 90 degree lateral turnout with enhanced roughness coefficient and invert level changes

Maryam Bagheri^a, Seyed M. Ali Zomorodian^b, Masih Zolghadrc, H. M^d. Azamathulla ^d,*
and C. Venkata Siva Rama Prasad^e
^aHydraulic Structures, Department of Water Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
^bDepartment of Water Engineering, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
^cDepartment of Water Sciences Engineering, College of Agriculture, Jahrom University, Jahrom, Iran
^d Civil & Environmental Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Port of Spain, Trinidad
^e Department of Civil Engineering, St. Peters Engineering College, Hyderabad, India
*Corresponding author. E-mail: azmatheditor@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

측면 분기기(흡입구)의 상류측에서 유동 분리는 분기기 입구에서 맴돌이 전류를 일으키는 중요한 문제입니다. 이는 흐름의 유효 폭, 분기 용량 및 효율성을 감소시킵니다. 따라서 분리구역의 크기를 파악하고 그 크기를 줄이기 위한 방안을 제시하는 것이 필수적이다.

본 연구에서는 분리 구역의 크기를 줄이기 위한 방법으로 분출구 입구에 7가지 유형의 조면화 요소와 4가지 다른 방류가 있는 3가지 다른 베드 인버트 레벨의 설치(총 84회 실험)를 조사했습니다. 또한 3D 전산 유체 역학(CFD) 모델을 사용하여 분리 구역의 흐름 패턴과 치수를 평가했습니다.

결과는 조도 계수를 향상시키면 분리 영역 치수를 최대 38%까지 줄일 수 있는 반면 드롭 구현 효과는 사용된 조도 계수에 따라 이 영역을 다르게 축소할 수 있음을 보여주었습니다. 두 방법을 결합하면 분리 구역 치수를 최대 63%까지 줄일 수 있습니다.

Flow separation at the upstream side of lateral turnouts (intakes) is a critical issue causing eddy currents at the turnout entrance. It reduces the effective width of flow, turnout capacity and efficiency. Therefore, it is essential to identify the dimensions of the separation zone and propose remedies to reduce its dimensions.

Installation of 7 types of roughening elements at the turnout entrance and 3 different bed invert levels, with 4 different discharges (making a total of 84 experiments) were examined in this study as a method to reduce the dimensions of the separation zone. Additionally, a 3-D Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) model was utilized to evaluate the flow pattern and dimensions of the separation zone.

Results showed that enhancing the roughness coefficient can reduce the separation zone dimensions up to 38% while the drop implementation effect can scale down this area differently based on the roughness coefficient used. Combining both methods can reduce the separation zone dimensions up to 63%.

Key words

discharge ratio, flow separation zone, intake, three dimensional simulation

Experimental and numerical study of flow at a 90 degree lateral turnout with enhanced
roughness coefficient and invert level changes — Experimental and numerical study of flow at a 90 degree lateral turnout with enhanced roughness coefficient and invert level changes

Figure 4 | Effect of roughness on separation zone dimensions.

Figure 10 | Comparision of the vortex area (software output) for three roughnesses (0.009, 0.023 and 0.032).

Figure 11 | Comparison of vortex area in 3D mode (tecplot output) with two roughnesses (a) 0.009 and (b) 0.032.

Figure 12 | Velocity vector for flow condition Q¼22 l/s, near surface.

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전체 원문보기

Figure 5 A schematic of the water model of reactor URO 200.

Physical and Numerical Modeling of the Impeller Construction Impact on the Aluminum Degassing Process

알루미늄 탈기 공정에 미치는 임펠러 구성의 물리적 및 수치적 모델링

Kamil Kuglin,¹ Michał Szucki,² Jacek Pieprzyca,³ Simon Genthe,² Tomasz Merder,³ and Dorota Kalisz^1,^*

Mikael Ersson, Academic Editor

Associated Data

Data Availability Statement

Abstract

This paper presents the results of tests on the suitability of designed heads (impellers) for aluminum refining. The research was carried out on a physical model of the URO-200, followed by numerical simulations in the FLOW 3D program. Four design variants of impellers were used in the study. The degree of dispersion of the gas phase in the model liquid was used as a criterion for evaluating the performance of each solution using different process parameters, i.e., gas flow rate and impeller speed. Afterward, numerical simulations in Flow 3D software were conducted for the best solution. These simulations confirmed the results obtained with the water model and verified them.

Keywords: aluminum, impeller construction, degassing process, numerical modeling, physical modeling

1. Introduction

Constantly increasing requirements concerning metallurgical purity in terms of hydrogen content and nonmetallic inclusions make casting manufacturers use effective refining techniques. The answer to this demand is the implementation of the aluminum refining technique making use of a rotor with an original design guaranteeing efficient refining [1,2,3,4]. The main task of the impeller (rotor) is to reduce the contamination of liquid metal (primary and recycled aluminum) with hydrogen and nonmetallic inclusions. An inert gas, mainly argon or a mixture of gases, is introduced through the rotor into the liquid metal to bring both hydrogen and nonmetallic inclusions to the metal surface through the flotation process. Appropriately and uniformly distributed gas bubbles in the liquid metal guarantee achieving the assumed level of contaminant removal economically. A very important factor in deciding about the obtained degassing effect is the optimal rotor design [5,6,7,8]. Thanks to the appropriate geometry of the rotor, gas bubbles introduced into the liquid metal are split into smaller ones, and the spinning movement of the rotor distributes them throughout the volume of the liquid metal bath. In this solution impurities in the liquid metal are removed both in the volume and from the upper surface of the metal. With a well-designed impeller, the costs of refining aluminum and its alloys can be lowered thanks to the reduced inert gas and energy consumption (optimal selection of rotor rotational speed). Shorter processing time and a high degree of dehydrogenation decrease the formation of dross on the metal surface (waste). A bigger produced dross leads to bigger process losses. Consequently, this means that the choice of rotor geometry has an indirect impact on the degree to which the generated waste is reduced [9,10].

Another equally important factor is the selection of process parameters such as gas flow rate and rotor speed [11,12]. A well-designed gas injection system for liquid metal meets two key requirements; it causes rapid mixing of the liquid metal to maintain a uniform temperature throughout the volume and during the entire process, to produce a chemically homogeneous metal composition. This solution ensures effective degassing of the metal bath. Therefore, the shape of the rotor, the arrangement of the nozzles, and their number are significant design parameters that guarantee the optimum course of the refining process. It is equally important to complete the mixing of the metal bath in a relatively short time, as this considerably shortens the refining process and, consequently, reduces the process costs. Another important criterion conditioning the implementation of the developed rotor is the generation of fine diffused gas bubbles which are distributed throughout the metal volume, and whose residence time will be sufficient for the bubbles to collide and adsorb the contaminants. The process of bubble formation by the spinning rotors differs from that in the nozzles or porous molders. In the case of a spinning rotor, the shear force generated by the rotor motion splits the bubbles into smaller ones. Here, the rotational speed, mixing force, surface tension, and fluid density have a key effect on the bubble size. The velocity of the bubbles, which depends mainly on their size and shape, determines their residence time in the reactor and is, therefore, very important for the refining process, especially since gas bubbles in liquid aluminum may remain steady only below a certain size [13,14,15].

The impeller designs presented in the article were developed to improve the efficiency of the process and reduce its costs. The impellers used so far have a complicated structure and are very pricey. The success of the conducted research will allow small companies to become independent of external supplies through the possibility of making simple and effective impellers on their own. The developed structures were tested on the water model. The results of this study can be considered as pilot.

2. Materials and Methods

Rotors were realized with the SolidWorks computer design technique and a 3D printer. The developed designs were tested on a water model. Afterward, the solution with the most advantageous refining parameters was selected and subjected to calculations with the Flow3D package. As a result, an impeller was designed for aluminum refining. Its principal lies in an even distribution of gas bubbles in the entire volume of liquid metal, with the largest possible participation of the bubble surface, without disturbing the metal surface. This procedure guarantees the removal of gaseous, as well as metallic and nonmetallic, impurities.

2.1. Rotor Designs

The developed impeller constructions, shown in Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3 and Figure 4, were printed on a 3D printer using the PLA (polylactide) material. The impeller design models differ in their shape and the number of holes through which the inert gas flows. Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the same impeller model but with a different number of gas outlets. The arrangement of four, eight, and 12 outlet holes was adopted in the developed design. A triangle-shaped structure equipped with three gas outlet holes is presented in Figure 4.

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Figure 1

A 3D model—impeller with four holes—variant B4.

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Figure 2

A 3D model—impeller with eight holes—variant B8.

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Figure 3

A 3D model—impeller with twelve holes—variant B12.

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Figure 4

A 3D model—‘red triangle’ impeller with three holes—variant RT3.

2.2. Physical Models

Investigations were carried out on a water model of the URO 200 reactor of the barbotage refining process (see Figure 5).

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Figure 5

A schematic of the water model of reactor URO 200.

The URO 200 reactor can be classified as a cyclic reactor. The main element of the device is a rotor, which ends the impeller. The whole system is attached to a shaft via which the refining gas is supplied. Then, the shaft with the rotor is immersed in the liquid metal in the melting pot or the furnace chamber. In URO 200 reactors, the refining process lasts 600 s (10 min), the gas flow rate that can be obtained ranges from 5 to 20 dm³·min⁻¹, and the speed at which the rotor can move is 0 to 400 rpm. The permissible quantity of liquid metal for barbotage refining is 300 kg or 700 kg [8,16,17]. The URO 200 has several design solutions which improve operation and can be adapted to the existing equipment in the foundry. These solutions include the following [8,16]:

URO-200XR—used for small crucible furnaces, the capacity of which does not exceed 250 kg, with no control system and no control of the refining process.
URO-200SA—used to service several crucible furnaces of capacity from 250 kg to 700 kg, fully automated and equipped with a mechanical rotor lift.
URO-200KA—used for refining processes in crucible furnaces and allows refining in a ladle. The process is fully automated, with a hydraulic rotor lift.
URO-200KX—a combination of the XR and KA models, designed for the ladle refining process. Additionally, refining in heated crucibles is possible. The unit is equipped with a manual hydraulic rotor lift.
URO-200PA—designed to cooperate with induction or crucible furnaces or intermediate chambers, the capacity of which does not exceed one ton. This unit is an integral part of the furnace. The rotor lift is equipped with a screw drive.

Studies making use of a physical model can be associated with the observation of the flow and circulation of gas bubbles. They require meeting several criteria regarding the similarity of the process and the object characteristics. The similarity conditions mainly include geometric, mechanical, chemical, thermal, and kinetic parameters. During simulation of aluminum refining with inert gas, it is necessary to maintain the geometric similarity between the model and the real object, as well as the similarity related to the flow of liquid metal and gas (hydrodynamic similarity). These quantities are characterized by the Reynolds, Weber, and Froude numbers. The Froude number is the most important parameter characterizing the process, its magnitude is the same for the physical model and the real object. Water was used as the medium in the physical modeling. The factors influencing the choice of water are its availability, relatively low cost, and kinematic viscosity at room temperature, which is very close to that of liquid aluminum.

The physical model studies focused on the flow of inert gas in the form of gas bubbles with varying degrees of dispersion, particularly with respect to some flow patterns such as flow in columns and geysers, as well as disturbance of the metal surface. The most important refining parameters are gas flow rate and rotor speed. The barbotage refining studies for the developed impeller (variants B4, B8, B12, and RT3) designs were conducted for the following process parameters:

Rotor speed: 200, 300, 400, and 500 rpm,
Ideal gas flow: 10, 20, and 30 dm³·min⁻¹,
Temperature: 293 K (20 °C).

These studies were aimed at determining the most favorable variants of impellers, which were then verified using the numerical modeling methods in the Flow-3D program.

2.3. Numerical Simulations with Flow-3D Program

Testing different rotor impellers using a physical model allows for observing the phenomena taking place while refining. This is a very important step when testing new design solutions without using expensive industrial trials. Another solution is modeling by means of commercial simulation programs such as ANSYS Fluent or Flow-3D [18,19]. Unlike studies on a physical model, in a computer program, the parameters of the refining process and the object itself, including the impeller design, can be easily modified. The simulations were performed with the Flow-3D program version 12.03.02. A three-dimensional system with the same dimensions as in the physical modeling was used in the calculations. The isothermal flow of liquid–gas bubbles was analyzed. As in the physical model, three speeds were adopted in the numerical tests: 200, 300, and 500 rpm. During the initial phase of the simulations, the velocity field around the rotor generated an appropriate direction of motion for the newly produced bubbles. When the required speed was reached, the generation of randomly distributed bubbles around the rotor was started at a rate of 2000 per second. Table 1 lists the most important simulation parameters.

Table 1

Values of parameters used in the calculations.

Parameter	Value	Unit
Maximum number of gas particles	1,000,000	–
Rate of particle generation	2000	1·s⁻¹
Specific gas constant	287.058	J·kg⁻¹·K⁻¹
Atmospheric pressure	1.013 × 10⁵	Pa
Water density	1000	kg·m⁻³
Water viscosity	0.001	kg·m⁻¹·s⁻¹
Boundary condition on the walls	No-slip	–
Size of computational cell	0.0034	m

In the case of the CFD analysis, the numerical solutions require great care when generating the computational mesh. Therefore, computational mesh tests were performed prior to the CFD calculations. The effect of mesh density was evaluated by taking into account the velocity of water in the tested object on the measurement line A (height of 0.065 m from the bottom) in a characteristic cross-section passing through the object axis (see Figure 6). The mesh contained 3,207,600, 6,311,981, 7,889,512, 11,569,230, and 14,115,049 cells.

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Figure 6

The velocity of the water depending on the size of the computational grid.

The quality of the generated computational meshes was checked using the criterion skewness angle Q_EAS [18]. This criterion is described by the following relationship:

QEAS=max{βmax−βeq180−βeq,βeq−βminβeq},

(1)

where β_max, β_min are the maximal and minimal angles (in degrees) between the edges of the cell, and β_eq is the angle corresponding to an ideal cell, which for cubic cells is 90°.

Normalized in the interval [0;1], the value of Q_EAS should not exceed 0.75, which identifies the permissible skewness angle of the generated mesh. For the computed meshes, this value was equal to 0.55–0.65.

Moreover, when generating the computational grids in the studied facility, they were compacted in the areas of the highest gradients of the calculated values, where higher turbulence is to be expected (near the impeller). The obtained results of water velocity in the studied object at constant gas flow rate are shown in Figure 6.

The analysis of the obtained water velocity distributions (see Figure 6) along the line inside the object revealed that, with the density of the grid of nodal points, the velocity changed and its changes for the test cases of 7,889,512, 11,569,230, and 14,115,049 were insignificant. Therefore, it was assumed that a grid containing not less than 7,900,000 (7,889,512) cells would not affect the result of CFD calculations.

A single-block mesh of regular cells with a size of 0.0034 m was used in the numerical calculations. The total number of cells was approximately 7,900,000 (7,889,512). This grid resolution (see Figure 7) allowed the geometry of the system to be properly represented, maintaining acceptable computation time (about 3 days on a workstation with 2× CPU and 12 computing cores).

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Figure 7

Structured equidistant mesh used in numerical calculations: (a) mesh with smoothed, surface cells (the so-called FAVOR method) used in Flow-3D; (b) visualization of the applied mesh resolution.

The calculations were conducted with an explicit scheme. The timestep was selected by the program automatically and controlled by stability and convergence. From the moment of the initial velocity field generation (start of particle generation), it was 0.0001 s.

When modeling the degassing process, three fluids are present in the system: water, gas supplied through the rotor head (impeller), and the surrounding air. Modeling such a multiphase flow is a numerically very complex issue. The necessity to overcome the liquid backpressure by the gas flowing out from the impeller leads to the formation of numerical instabilities in the volume of fluid (VOF)-based approach used by Flow-3D software. Therefore, a mixed description of the analyzed flow was used here. In this case, water was treated as a continuous medium, while, in the case of gas bubbles, the discrete phase model (DPM) model was applied. The way in which the air surrounding the system was taken into account is later described in detail.

The following additional assumptions were made in the modeling:

—The liquid phase was considered as an incompressible Newtonian fluid.
—The effect of chemical reactions during the refining process was neglected.
—The composition of each phase (gas and liquid) was considered homogeneous; therefore, the viscosity and surface tension were set as constants.
—Only full turbulence existed in the liquid, and the effect of molecular viscosity was neglected.
—The gas bubbles were shaped as perfect spheres.
—The mutual interaction between gas bubbles (particles) was neglected.

2.3.1. Modeling of Liquid Flow

The motion of the real fluid (continuous medium) is described by the Navier–Stokes Equation [20].

dudt=−1ρ∇p+ν∇2u+13ν∇(∇⋅ u)+F,

(2)

where du/dt is the time derivative, u is the velocity vector, t is the time, and F is the term accounting for external forces including gravity (unit components denoted by X, Y, Z).

In the simulations, the fluid flow was assumed to be incompressible, in which case the following equation is applicable:

∂u∂t+(u⋅∇)u=−1ρ∇p+ν∇2u+F.

(3)

Due to the large range of liquid velocities during flows, the turbulence formation process was included in the modeling. For this purpose, the k–ε model turbulence kinetic energy k and turbulence dissipation ε were the target parameters, as expressed by the following equations [21]:

∂(ρk)∂t+∂(ρkvi)∂xi=∂∂xj[(μ+μtσk)⋅∂k∂xi]+Gk+Gb−ρε−Ym+Sk,

(4)

∂(ρε)∂t+∂(ρεui)∂xi=∂∂xj[(μ+μtσε)⋅∂k∂xi]+C1εεk(Gk+G3εGb)+C2ερε2k+Sε,

(5)

where ρ is the gas density, σ_κ and σ_ε are the Prandtl turbulence numbers, k and ε are constants of 1.0 and 1.3, and G_k and G_b are the kinetic energy of turbulence generated by the average velocity and buoyancy, respectively.

As mentioned earlier, there are two gas phases in the considered problem. In addition to the gas bubbles, which are treated here as particles, there is also air, which surrounds the system. The boundary of phase separation is in this case the free surface of the water. The shape of the free surface can change as a result of the forming velocity field in the liquid. Therefore, it is necessary to use an appropriate approach to free surface tracking. The most commonly used concept in liquid–gas flow modeling is the volume of fluid (VOF) method [22,23], and Flow-3D uses a modified version of this method called TrueVOF. It introduces the concept of the volume fraction of the liquid phase f_l. This parameter can be used for classifying the cells of a discrete grid into areas filled with liquid phase (f_l = 1), gaseous phase, or empty cells (f_l = 0) and those through which the phase separation boundary (f_l ∈ (0, 1)) passes (free surface). To determine the local variations of the liquid phase fraction, it is necessary to solve the following continuity equation:

dfldt=0.

(6)

Then, the fluid parameters in the region of coexistence of the two phases (the so-called interface) depend on the volume fraction of each phase.

ρ=flρl+(1−fl)ρg,

(7)

ν=flνl+(1−fl)νg,

(8)

where indices l and g refer to the liquid and gaseous phases, respectively.

The parameter of fluid velocity in cells containing both phases is also determined in the same way.

u=flul+(1−fl)ug.

(9)

Since the processes taking place in the surrounding air can be omitted, to speed up the calculations, a single-phase, free-surface model was used. This means that no calculations were performed in the gas cells (they were treated as empty cells). The liquid could fill them freely, and the air surrounding the system was considered by the atmospheric pressure exerted on the free surface. This approach is often used in modeling foundry and metallurgical processes [24].

2.3.2. Modeling of Gas Bubble Flow

As stated, a particle model was used to model bubble flow. Spherical particles (gas bubbles) of a given size were randomly generated in the area marked with green in Figure 7b. In the simulations, the gas bubbles were assumed to have diameters of 0.016 and 0.02 m corresponding to the gas flow rates of 10 and 30 dm³·min⁻¹, respectively.

Experimental studies have shown that, as a result of turbulent fluid motion, some of the bubbles may burst, leading to the formation of smaller bubbles, although merging of bubbles into larger groupings may also occur. Therefore, to be able to observe the behavior of bubbles of different sizes (diameter), the calculations generated two additional particle types with diameters twice smaller and twice larger, respectively. The proportion of each species in the system was set to 33.33% (Table 2).

Table 2

Data assumed for calculations.

No	Rotor Speed (Rotational Speed) rpm	Bubbles Diameter m	Corresponding Gas Flow Rate dm³·min⁻¹	No	Rotor Speed (Rotational Speed) rpm	Bubbles Diameter m	Corresponding Gas Flow Rate dm³·min⁻¹
A	200	0.016	10	D	200	0.02	30
0.008	0.01
0.032	0.04
B	300	0.016	10	E	300	0.02	30
0.008	0.01
0.032	0.04
C	500	0.016	10	F	500	0.02	30
0.008	0.01
0.032	0.04

The velocity of the particle results from the generated velocity field (calculated from Equation (3) in the liquid ul around it and its velocity resulting from the buoyancy force ub. The effect of particle radius r on the terminal velocity associated with buoyancy force can be determined according to Stokes’ law.

ub=29 (ρg−ρl)μlgr2,

(10)

where g is the acceleration (9.81).

The DPM model was used for modeling the two-phase (water–air) flow. In this model, the fluid (water) is treated as a continuous phase and described by the Navier–Stokes equation, while gas bubbles are particles flowing in the model fluid (discrete phase). The trajectories of each bubble in the DPM system are calculated at each timestep taking into account the mass forces acting on it. Table 3 characterizes the DPM model used in our own research [18].

Table 3

Characteristic of the DPM model.

Method	Equations
Euler–Lagrange	Balance equation: dugdt=FD(u−ug)+g(ϱg−ϱ)ϱg+F. F_D (u − u_p) denotes the drag forces per mass unit of a bubble, and the expression for the drag coefficient F_D is of the form FD=18μCDReϱ⋅gd2g24. The relative Reynolds number has the form Re≡ρdg\|ug−u\|μ. On the other hand, the force resulting from the additional acceleration of the model fluid has the form F=12dρdtρg(u−ug), where u_g is the gas bubble velocity, u is the liquid velocity, d_g is the bubble diameter, and C_D is the drag coefficient.

Method

Equations

Euler–Lagrange

Balance equation:
dugdt=FD(u−ug)+g(ϱg−ϱ)ϱg+F.
F_D (u − u_p) denotes the drag forces per mass unit of a bubble, and the expression for the drag coefficient F_D is of the form
FD=18μCDReϱ⋅gd2g24.
The relative Reynolds number has the form
Re≡ρdg|ug−u|μ.
On the other hand, the force resulting from the additional acceleration of the model fluid has the form
F=12dρdtρg(u−ug),
where u_g is the gas bubble velocity, u is the liquid velocity, d_g is the bubble diameter, and C_D is the drag coefficient.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Calculations of Power and Mixing Time by the Flowing Gas Bubbles

One of the most important parameters of refining with a rotor is the mixing power induced by the spinning rotor and the outflowing gas bubbles (via impeller). The mixing power of liquid metal in a ladle of height (h) by gas injection can be determined from the following relation [15]:

pgVm=ρ⋅g⋅uB,

(11)

where p_g is the mixing power, V_m is the volume of liquid metal in the reactor, ρ is the density of liquid aluminum, and u_B is the average speed of bubbles, given below.

uB=n⋅R⋅TAc⋅Pm⋅t,

(12)

where n is the number of gas moles, R is the gas constant (8.314), A_c is the cross-sectional area of the reactor vessel, T is the temperature of liquid aluminum in the reactor, and P_m is the pressure at the middle tank level. The pressure at the middle level of the tank is calculated by a function of the mean logarithmic difference.

Pm=(Pa+ρ⋅g⋅h)−Paln(Pa+ρ⋅g⋅h)Pa,

(13)

where P_a is the atmospheric pressure, and h is the the height of metal in the reactor.

Themelis and Goyal [25] developed a model for calculating mixing power delivered by gas injection.

pg=2Q⋅R⋅T⋅ln(1+m⋅ρ⋅g⋅hP),

(14)

where Q is the gas flow, and m is the mass of liquid metal.

Zhang [26] proposed a model taking into account the temperature difference between gas and alloy (metal).

pg=QRTgVm[ln(1+ρ⋅g⋅hPa)+(1−TTg)],

(15)

where T_g is the gas temperature at the entry point.

Data for calculating the mixing power resulting from inert gas injection into liquid aluminum are given below in Table 4. The design parameters were adopted for the model, the parameters of which are shown in Figure 5.

Table 4

Data for calculating mixing power introduced by an inert gas.

Parameter	Value	Unit
Height of metal column	0.7	m
Density of aluminum	2375	kg·m⁻³
Process duration	20	s
Gas temperature at the injection site	940	K
Cross-sectional area of ladle	0.448	m²
Mass of liquid aluminum	546.25	kg
Volume of ladle	0.23	M³
Temperature of liquid aluminum	941.15	K

Table 5 presents the results of mixing power calculations according to the models of Themelis and Goyal and of Zhang for inert gas flows of 10, 20, and 30 dm³·min⁻¹. The obtained calculation results significantly differed from each other. The difference was an order of magnitude, which indicates that the model is highly inaccurate without considering the temperature of the injected gas. Moreover, the calculations apply to the case when the mixing was performed only by the flowing gas bubbles, without using a rotor, which is a great simplification of the phenomenon.

Table 5

Mixing power calculated from mathematical models.

Mathematical Model	Mixing Power (W·t⁻¹) for a Given Inert Gas Flow (dm³·min⁻¹)
	10	20	30
Themelis and Goyal	11.49	23.33	35.03
Zhang	0.82	1.66	2.49

The mixing time is defined as the time required to achieve 95% complete mixing of liquid metal in the ladle [27,28,29,30]. Table 6 groups together equations for the mixing time according to the models.

Table 6

Models for calculating mixing time.

Authors	Model	Remarks
Szekely [31]	τ=800ε−0.4	ε—W·t⁻¹
Chiti and Paglianti [27]	τ=CVQl	V—volume of reactor, m³ Ql—flow intensity, m³·s⁻¹
Iguchi and Nakamura [32]	τ=1200⋅Q−0.4D1.97h−1.0υ0.47	υ—kinematic viscosity, m²·s⁻¹ D—diameter of ladle, m h—height of metal column, m Q—liquid flow intensity, m³·s⁻¹

Figure 8 and Figure 9 show the mixing time as a function of gas flow rate for various heights of the liquid column in the ladle and mixing power values.

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Figure 8

Mixing time as a function of gas flow rate for various heights of the metal column (Iguchi and Nakamura model).

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Figure 9

Mixing time as a function of mixing power (Szekly model).

3.2. Determining the Bubble Size

The mechanisms controlling bubble size and mass transfer in an alloy undergoing refining are complex. Strong mixing conditions in the reactor promote impurity mass transfer. In the case of a spinning rotor, the shear force generated by the rotor motion separates the bubbles into smaller bubbles. Rotational speed, mixing force, surface tension, and liquid density have a strong influence on the bubble size. To characterize the kinetic state of the refining process, parameters k and A were introduced. Parameters k, A, and u_B can be calculated using the below equations [33].

k=2D⋅uBdB⋅π−−−−−−√,

(16)

A=6Q⋅hdB⋅uB,

(17)

uB=1.02g⋅dB,−−−−−√

(18)

where D is the diffusion coefficient, and d_B is the bubble diameter.

After substituting appropriate values, we get

dB=3.03×104(πD)−2/5g−1/5h4/5Q0.344N−1.48.

(19)

According to the last equation, the size of the gas bubble decreases with the increasing rotational speed (see Figure 10).

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Figure 10

Effect of rotational speed on the bubble diameter.

In a flow of given turbulence intensity, the diameter of the bubble does not exceed the maximum size d_max, which is inversely proportional to the rate of kinetic energy dissipation in a viscous flow ε. The size of the gas bubble diameter as a function of the mixing energy, also considering the Weber number and the mixing energy in the negative power, can be determined from the following equations [31,34]:

—Sevik and Park:

dBmax=We0.6kr⋅(σ⋅103ρ⋅10−3)0.6⋅(10⋅ε)−0.4⋅10−2.

(20)

—Evans:

dBmax=⎡⎣Wekr⋅σ⋅1032⋅(ρ⋅10−3)13⎤⎦35 ⋅(10⋅ε)−25⋅10−2.

(21)

The results of calculating the maximum diameter of the bubble d_Bmax determined from Equation (21) are given in Table 7.

Table 7

The results of calculating the maximum diameter of the bubble using Equation (21).

Model	Mixing Energy ĺ (m²·s⁻³)	Weber Number (We_kr)
0.59	1.0	1.2
Zhang and Taniguchi d_max	0.1	0.0167	0.0230	0.026
0.5	0.0088	0.0121	0.013
1.0	0.0067	0.0091	0.010
1.5	0.0057	0.0078	0.009
Sevik and Park d_B_max	0.1	0.265	0.36	0.41
0.5	0.139	0.19	0.21
1.0	0.106	0.14	0.16
1.5	0.090	0.12	0.14
Evans d_B_max	0.1	0.247	0.340	0.38
0.5	0.130	0.178	0.20
1.0	0.098	0.135	0.15
1.5	0.084	0.115	0.13

3.3. Physical Modeling

The first stage of experiments (using the URO-200 water model) included conducting experiments with impellers equipped with four, eight, and 12 gas outlets (variants B4, B8, B12). The tests were carried out for different process parameters. Selected results for these experiments are presented in Figure 11, Figure 12, Figure 13 and Figure 14.

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Figure 11

Impeller variant B4—gas bubbles dispersion registered for a gas flow rate of 10 dm³·min⁻¹ and rotor speed of (a) 200, (b) 300, (c) 400, and (d) 500 rpm.

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Figure 12

Impeller variant B8—gas bubbles dispersion registered for a gas flow rate of 10 dm³·min⁻¹ and rotor speed of (a) 200, (b) 300, (c) 400, and (d) 500 rpm.

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Figure 13

Gas bubble dispersion registered for different processing parameters (impeller variant B12).

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Figure 14

Gas bubble dispersion registered for different processing parameters (impeller variant RT3).

The analysis of the refining variants presented in Figure 11, Figure 12, Figure 13 and Figure 14 reveals that the proposed impellers design model is not useful for the aluminum refining process. The number of gas outlet orifices, rotational speed, and flow did not affect the refining efficiency. In all the variants shown in the figures, very poor dispersion of gas bubbles was observed in the object. The gas bubble flow had a columnar character, and so-called dead zones, i.e., areas where no inert gas bubbles are present, were visible in the analyzed object. Such dead zones were located in the bottom and side zones of the ladle, while the flow of bubbles occurred near the turning rotor. Another negative phenomenon observed was a significant agitation of the water surface due to excessive (rotational) rotor speed and gas flow (see Figure 13, cases 20; 400, 30; 300, 30; 400, and 30; 500).

Research results for a ‘red triangle’ impeller equipped with three gas supply orifices (variant RT3) are presented in Figure 14.

In this impeller design, a uniform degree of bubble dispersion in the entire volume of the modeling fluid was achieved for most cases presented (see Figure 14). In all tested variants, single bubbles were observed in the area of the water surface in the vessel. For variants 20; 200, 30; 200, and 20; 300 shown in Figure 14, the bubble dispersion results were the worst as the so-called dead zones were identified in the area near the bottom and sidewalls of the vessel, which disqualifies these work parameters for further applications. Interestingly, areas where swirls and gas bubble chains formed were identified only for the inert gas flows of 20 and 30 dm³·min⁻¹ and 200 rpm in the analyzed model. This means that the presented model had the best performance in terms of dispersion of gas bubbles in the model liquid. Its design with sharp edges also differed from previously analyzed models, which is beneficial for gas bubble dispersion, but may interfere with its suitability in industrial conditions due to possible premature wear.

3.4. Qualitative Comparison of Research Results (CFD and Physical Model)

The analysis (physical modeling) revealed that the best mixing efficiency results were obtained with the RT3 impeller variant. Therefore, numerical calculations were carried out for the impeller model with three outlet orifices (variant RT3). The CFD results are presented in Figure 15 and Figure 16.

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Object name is materials-15-05273-g015.jpg

Figure 15

Simulation results of the impeller RT3, for given flows and rotational speeds after a time of 1 s: simulation variants (a) A, (b) B, (c) C, (d) D, (e) E, and (f) F.

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Figure 16

Simulation results of the impeller RT3, for given flows and rotational speeds after a time of 5.4 s.: simulation variants (a) A, (b) B, (c) C, (d) D, (e) E, and (f) F.

CFD results are presented for all analyzed variants (impeller RT3) at two selected calculation timesteps of 1 and 5.40 s. They show the velocity field of the medium (water) and the dispersion of gas bubbles.

Figure 15 shows the initial refining phase after 1 s of the process. In this case, the gas bubble formation and flow were observed in an area close to contact with the rotor. Figure 16 shows the phase when the dispersion and flow of gas bubbles were advanced in the reactor area of the URO-200 model.

The quantitative evaluation of the obtained results of physical and numerical model tests was based on the comparison of the degree of gas dispersion in the model liquid. The degree of gas bubble dispersion in the volume of the model liquid and the areas of strong turbulent zones formation were evaluated during the analysis of the results of visualization and numerical simulations. These two effects sufficiently characterize the required course of the process from the physical point of view. The known scheme of the below description was adopted as a basic criterion for the evaluation of the degree of dispersion of gas bubbles in the model liquid.

Minimal dispersion—single bubbles ascending in the region of their formation along the ladle axis; lack of mixing in the whole bath volume.
Accurate dispersion—single and well-mixed bubbles ascending toward the bath mirror in the region of the ladle axis; no dispersion near the walls and in the lower part of the ladle.
Uniform dispersion—most desirable; very good mixing of fine bubbles with model liquid.
Excessive dispersion—bubbles join together to form chains; large turbulence zones; uneven flow of gas.

The numerical simulation results give a good agreement with the experiments performed with the physical model. For all studied variants (used process parameters), the single bubbles were observed in the area of water surface in the vessel. For variants presented in Figure 13 (200 rpm, gas flow 20 and dm³·min⁻¹) and relevant examples in numerical simulation Figure 16, the worst bubble dispersion results were obtained because the dead zones were identified in the area near the bottom and sidewalls of the vessel, which disqualifies these work parameters for further use. The areas where swirls and gas bubble chains formed were identified only for the inert gas flows of 20 and 30 dm³·min⁻¹ and 200 rpm in the analyzed model (physical model). This means that the presented impeller model had the best performance in terms of dispersion of gas bubbles in the model liquid. The worst bubble dispersion results were obtained because the dead zones were identified in the area near the bottom and side walls of the vessel, which disqualifies these work parameters for further use.

Figure 17 presents exemplary results of model tests (CFD and physical model) with marked gas bubble dispersion zones. All variants of tests were analogously compared, and this comparison allowed validating the numerical model.

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Object name is materials-15-05273-g017.jpg

Figure 17

Compilations of model research results (CFD and physical): A—single gas bubbles formed on the surface of the modeling liquid, B—excessive formation of gas chains and swirls, C—uniform distribution of gas bubbles in the entire volume of the tank, and D—dead zones without gas bubbles, no dispersion. (a) Variant B; (b) variant F.

It should be mentioned here that, in numerical simulations, it is necessary to make certain assumptions and simplifications. The calculations assumed three particle size classes (Table 2), which represent the different gas bubbles that form due to different gas flow rates. The maximum number of particles/bubbles (Table 1) generated was assumed in advance and related to the computational capabilities of the computer. Too many particles can also make it difficult to visualize and analyze the results. The size of the particles, of course, affects their behavior during simulation, while, in the figures provided in the article, the bubbles are represented by spheres (visualization of the results) of the same size. Please note that, due to the adopted Lagrangian–Eulerian approach, the simulation did not take into account phenomena such as bubble collapse or fusion. However, the obtained results allow a comprehensive analysis of the behavior of gas bubbles in the system under consideration.

The comparative analysis of the visualization (quantitative) results obtained with the water model and CFD simulations (see Figure 17) generated a sufficient agreement from the point of view of the trends. A precise quantitative evaluation is difficult to perform because of the lack of a refraction compensating system in the water model. Furthermore, in numerical simulations, it is not possible to determine the geometry of the forming gas bubbles and their interaction with each other as opposed to the visualization in the water model. The use of both research methods is complementary. Thus, a direct comparison of images obtained by the two methods requires appropriate interpretation. However, such an assessment gives the possibility to qualitatively determine the types of the present gas bubble dispersion, thus ultimately validating the CFD results with the water model.

A summary of the visualization results for impellers RT3, i.e., analysis of the occurring gas bubble dispersion types, is presented in Table 8.

Table 8

Summary of visualization results (impeller RT3)—different types of gas bubble dispersion.

No Exp.	A	B	C	D	E	F
Gas flow rate, dm³·min⁻¹	10	30
Impeller speed, rpm	200	300	500	200	300	500
Type of dispersion	Accurate	Uniform	Uniform/excessive	Minimal	Excessive	Excessive

Tests carried out for impeller RT3 confirmed the high efficiency of gas bubble distribution in the volume of the tested object at a low inert gas flow rate of 10 dm³·min⁻¹. The most optimal variant was variant B (300 rpm, 10 dm³·min⁻¹). However, the other variants A and C (gas flow rate 10 dm³·min⁻¹) seemed to be favorable for this type of impeller and are recommended for further testing. The above process parameters will be analyzed in detail in a quantitative analysis to be performed on the basis of the obtained efficiency curves of the degassing process (oxygen removal). This analysis will give an unambiguous answer as to which process parameters are the most optimal for this type of impeller; the results are planned for publication in the next article.

It should also be noted here that the high agreement between the results of numerical calculations and physical modelling prompts a conclusion that the proposed approach to the simulation of a degassing process which consists of a single-phase flow model with a free surface and a particle flow model is appropriate. The simulation results enable us to understand how the velocity field in the fluid is formed and to analyze the distribution of gas bubbles in the system. The simulations in Flow-3D software can, therefore, be useful for both the design of the impeller geometry and the selection of process parameters.

4. Conclusions

The results of experiments carried out on the physical model of the device for the simulation of barbotage refining of aluminum revealed that the worst results in terms of distribution and dispersion of gas bubbles in the studied object were obtained for the black impellers variants B4, B8, and B12 (multi-orifice impellers—four, eight, and 12 outlet holes, respectively).

In this case, the control of flow, speed, and number of gas exit orifices did not improve the process efficiency, and the developed design did not meet the criteria for industrial tests. In the case of the ‘red triangle’ impeller (variant RT3), uniform gas bubble dispersion was achieved throughout the volume of the modeling fluid for most of the tested variants. The worst bubble dispersion results due to the occurrence of the so-called dead zones in the area near the bottom and sidewalls of the vessel were obtained for the flow variants of 20 dm³·min⁻¹ and 200 rpm and 30 dm³·min⁻¹ and 200 rpm. For the analyzed model, areas where swirls and gas bubble chains were formed were found only for the inert gas flow of 20 and 30 dm³·min⁻¹ and 200 rpm. The model impeller (variant RT3) had the best performance compared to the previously presented impellers in terms of dispersion of gas bubbles in the model liquid. Moreover, its design differed from previously presented models because of its sharp edges. This can be advantageous for gas bubble dispersion, but may negatively affect its suitability in industrial conditions due to premature wearing.

The CFD simulation results confirmed the results obtained from the experiments performed on the physical model. The numerical simulation of the operation of the ‘red triangle’ impeller model (using Flow-3D software) gave good agreement with the experiments performed on the physical model. This means that the presented model impeller, as compared to other (analyzed) designs, had the best performance in terms of gas bubble dispersion in the model liquid.

In further work, the developed numerical model is planned to be used for CFD simulations of the gas bubble distribution process taking into account physicochemical parameters of liquid aluminum based on industrial tests. Consequently, the obtained results may be implemented in production practice.

Funding Statement

This paper was created with the financial support grants from the AGH-UST, Faculty of Foundry Engineering, Poland (16.16.170.654 and 11/990/BK_22/0083) for the Faculty of Materials Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Poland.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, K.K. and D.K.; methodology, J.P. and T.M.; validation, M.S. and S.G.; formal analysis, D.K. and T.M.; investigation, J.P., K.K. and S.G.; resources, M.S., J.P. and K.K.; writing—original draft preparation, D.K. and T.M.; writing—review and editing, D.K. and T.M.; visualization, J.P., K.K. and S.G.; supervision, D.K.; funding acquisition, D.K. and T.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Data are contained within the article.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Footnotes

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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원문 보기

Figure 5: 3D & 2D views of simulated fill sequence of a hollow cylinder at 1000 rpm and 1500 rpm at various time intervals during filling.

Computer Simulation of Centrifugal Casting Process using FLOW-3D

Aneesh Kumar J1, a, K. Krishnakumar1, b and S. Savithri2, c 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 2 Computational Modelling& Simulation Division, Process Engineering & Environmental Technology Division CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science & Technology
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
a aneesh82kj@gmail.com, b kkk@cet.ac.in, c sivakumarsavi@gmail.com, ssavithri@niist.res.in Key words: Mold filling, centrifugal casting process, computer simulation, FLOW- 3D™

Abstract

원심 주조 공정은 기능적으로 등급이 지정된 재료, 즉 구성 요소 간에 밀도 차이가 큰 복합 재료 또는 금속 재료를 생산하는 데 사용되는 잠재적인 제조 기술 중 하나입니다. 이 공정에서 유체 흐름이 중요한 역할을 하며 복잡한 흐름 공정을 이해하는 것은 결함 없는 주물을 생산하는 데 필수입니다. 금형이 고속으로 회전하고 금형 벽이 불투명하기 때문에 흐름 패턴을 실시간으로 시각화하는 것은 불가능합니다. 따라서 현재 연구에서는 상용 CFD 코드 FLOW-3D™를 사용하여 수직 원심 주조 공정 중 단순 중공 원통형 주조에 대한 금형 충전 시퀀스를 시뮬레이션했습니다. 수직 원심주조 공정 중 다양한 방사 속도가 충전 패턴에 미치는 영향을 조사하고 있습니다.

Centrifugal casting process is one of the potential manufacturing techniques used for producing functionally graded materials viz., composite materials or metallic materials which have high differences of density among constituents. In this process, the fluid flow plays a major role and understanding the complex flow process is a must for the production of defect-free castings. Since the mold spins at a high velocity and the mold wall being opaque, it is impossible to visualise the flow patterns in real time. Hence, in the present work, the commercial CFD code FLOW-3D™, has been used to simulate the mold filling sequence for a simple hollow cylindrical casting during vertical centrifugal casting process. Effect of various spinning velocities on the fill pattern during vertical centrifugal casting process is being investigated.

Figure 1: (a) Mold geometry and (b) Computational mesh

Figure 2: Experimental data on height of
vertex formed [8] / Figure 3: Vertex height as a function of time — Figure 2: Experimental data on height of vertex formed [8]/Figure 3: Vertex height as a function of time

Figure 4: Free surface contours for water model at 10 s, 15 s and 20 s.

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Sketch of approach channel and spillway of the Kamal-Saleh dam

CFD modeling of flow pattern in spillway’s approach channel

Sustainable Water Resources Management volume 1, pages245–251 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Analysis of behavior and hydraulic characteristics of flow over the dam spillway is a complicated task that takes lots of money and time in water engineering projects planning. To model those hydraulic characteristics, several methods such as physical and numerical methods can be used. Nowadays, by utilizing new methods in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and by the development of fast computers, the numerical methods have become accessible for use in the analysis of such sophisticated flows. The CFD softwares have the capability to analyze two- and three-dimensional flow fields. In this paper, the flow pattern at the guide wall of the Kamal-Saleh dam was modeled by Flow 3D. The results show that the current geometry of the left wall causes instability in the flow pattern and making secondary and vortex flow at beginning approach channel. This shape of guide wall reduced the performance of weir to remove the peak flood discharge.

댐 여수로 흐름의 거동 및 수리학적 특성 분석은 물 공학 프로젝트 계획에 많은 비용과 시간이 소요되는 복잡한 작업입니다. 이러한 수력학적 특성을 모델링하기 위해 물리적, 수치적 방법과 같은 여러 가지 방법을 사용할 수 있습니다. 요즘에는 전산유체역학(CFD)의 새로운 방법을 활용하고 빠른 컴퓨터의 개발로 이러한 정교한 흐름의 해석에 수치 방법을 사용할 수 있게 되었습니다. CFD 소프트웨어에는 2차원 및 3차원 유동장을 분석하는 기능이 있습니다. 본 논문에서는 Kamal-Saleh 댐 유도벽의 흐름 패턴을 Flow 3D로 모델링하였다. 결과는 왼쪽 벽의 현재 형상이 흐름 패턴의 불안정성을 유발하고 시작 접근 채널에서 2차 및 와류 흐름을 만드는 것을 보여줍니다. 이러한 형태의 안내벽은 첨두방류량을 제거하기 위해 둑의 성능을 저하시켰다.

Introduction

Spillways are one of the main structures used in the dam projects. Design of the spillway in all types of dams, specifically earthen dams is important because the inability of the spillway to remove probable maximum flood (PMF) discharge may cause overflow of water which ultimately leads to destruction of the dam (Das and Saikia et al. 2009; E 2013 and Novak et al. 2007). So study on the hydraulic characteristics of this structure is important. Hydraulic properties of spillway including flow pattern at the entrance of the guide walls and along the chute. Moreover, estimating the values of velocity and pressure parameters of flow along the chute is very important (Chanson 2004; Chatila and Tabbara 2004). The purpose of the study on the flow pattern is the effect of wall geometry on the creation transverse waves, flow instability, rotating and reciprocating flow through the inlet of spillway and its chute (Parsaie and Haghiabi 2015a, b; Parsaie et al. 2015; Wang and Jiang 2010). The purpose of study on the values of velocity and pressure is to calculate the potential of the structure to occurrence of phenomena such as cavitation (Fattor and Bacchiega 2009; Ma et al. 2010). Sometimes, it can be seen that the spillway design parameters of pressure and velocity are very suitable, but geometry is considered not suitable for conducting walls causing unstable flow pattern over the spillway, rotating flows at the beginning of the spillway and its design reduced the flood discharge capacity (Fattor and Bacchiega 2009). Study on spillway is usually conducted using physical models (Su et al. 2009; Suprapto 2013; Wang and Chen 2009; Wang and Jiang 2010). But recently, with advances in the field of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), study on hydraulic characterist–ics of this structure has been done with these techniques (Chatila and Tabbara 2004; Zhenwei et al. 2012). Using the CFD as a powerful technique for modeling the hydraulic structures can reduce the time and cost of experiments (Tabbara et al. 2005). In CFD field, the Navier–Stokes equation is solved by powerful numerical methods such as finite element method and finite volumes (Kim and Park 2005; Zhenwei et al. 2012). In order to obtain closed-form Navier–Stokes equations turbulence models, such k − ε and Re-Normalisation Group (RNG) models have been presented. To use the technique of computational fluid dynamics, software packages such as Fluent and Flow 3D, etc., are provided. Recently, these two software packages have been widely used in hydraulic engineering because the performance and their accuracy are very suitable (Gessler 2005; Kim 2007; Kim et al. 2012; Milési and Causse 2014; Montagna et al. 2011). In this paper, to assess the flow pattern at Kamal-Saleh guide wall, numerical method has been used. All the stages of numerical modeling were conducted in the Flow 3D software.

Materials and methods

Firstly, a three-dimensional model was constructed according to two-dimensional map that was prepared for designing the spillway. Then a small model was prepared with scale of 1:80 and entered into the Flow 3D software; all stages of the model construction was conducted in AutoCAD 3D. Flow 3D software numerically solved the Navier–Stokes equation by finite volume method. Below is a brief reference on the equations that used in the software. Figure 1 shows the 3D sketch of Kamal-Saleh spillway and Fig. 2 shows the uploading file of the Kamal-Saleh spillway in Flow 3D software.

Review of the governing equations in software Flow 3D

Continuity equation at three-dimensional Cartesian coordinates is given as Eq (1).

vf\partialρ\partialt+\partial\partialx(uAx)+\partial\partialx(vAy)+\partial\partialx(wAz)=PSORρ,vf\partialρ\partialt+\partial\partialx(uAx)+\partial\partialx(vAy)+\partial\partialx(wAz)=PSORρ,

(1)

where u, v, z are velocity component in the x, y, z direction; A _x, A _y, A _z cross-sectional area of the flow; ρ fluid density; PSOR the source term; v _f is the volume fraction of the fluid and three-dimensional momentum equations given in Eq (2).

\partialu\partialt+1vf(uAx\partialu\partialx+vAy\partialu\partialy+wAz\partialu\partialz)=-1ρ\partialP\partialx+Gx+fx\partialv\partialt+1vf(uAx\partialv\partialx+vAy\partialv\partialy+wAz\partialv\partialz)=-1ρ\partialP\partialy+Gy+fy\partialw\partialt+1vf(uAx\partialw\partialx+vAy\partialw\partialy+wAz\partialw\partialz)=-1ρ\partialP\partialy+Gz+fz,\partialu\partialt+1vf(uAx\partialu\partialx+vAy\partialu\partialy+wAz\partialu\partialz)=-1ρ\partialP\partialx+Gx+fx\partialv\partialt+1vf(uAx\partialv\partialx+vAy\partialv\partialy+wAz\partialv\partialz)=-1ρ\partialP\partialy+Gy+fy\partialw\partialt+1vf(uAx\partialw\partialx+vAy\partialw\partialy+wAz\partialw\partialz)=-1ρ\partialP\partialy+Gz+fz,

(2)

where P is the fluid pressure; G _x, G _y, G _z the acceleration created by body fluids; f _x, f _y, f _z viscosity acceleration in three dimensions and v _f is related to the volume of fluid, defined by Eq. (3). For modeling of free surface profile the VOF technique based on the volume fraction of the computational cells has been used. Since the volume fraction F represents the amount of fluid in each cell, it takes value between 0 and 1.

\partialF\partialt+1vf[\partial\partialx(FAxu)+\partial\partialy(FAyv)+\partial\partialy(FAzw)]=0\partialF\partialt+1vf[\partial\partialx(FAxu)+\partial\partialy(FAyv)+\partial\partialy(FAzw)]=0

(3)

Turbulence models

Flow 3D offers five types of turbulence models: Prantl mixing length, k − ε equation, RNG models, Large eddy simulation model. Turbulence models that have been proposed recently are based on Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. This approach involves statistical methods to extract an averaged equation related to the turbulence quantities.

Steps of solving a problem in Flow 3D software

(1) Preparing the 3D model of spillway by AutoCAD software. (2) Uploading the file of 3D model in Flow 3D software and defining the problem in the software and checking the final mesh. (3) Choosing the basic equations that should be solved. (4) Defining the characteristics of fluid. (5) Defining the boundary conditions; it is notable that this software has a wide range of boundary conditions. (6) Initializing the flow field. (7) Adjusting the output. (8) Adjusting the control parameters, choice of the calculation method and solution formula. (9) Start of calculation. Figure 1 shows the 3D model of the Kamal-Saleh spillway; in this figure, geometry of the left and right guide wall is shown.

Figure 2 shows the uploading of the 3D spillway dam in Flow 3D software. Moreover, in this figure the considered boundary condition in software is shown. At the entrance and end of spillway, the flow rate or fluid elevation and outflow was considered as BC. The bottom of spillway was considered as wall and left and right as symmetry.

Model calibration

Calibration of the Flow 3D for modeling the effect of geometry of guide wall on the flow pattern is included for comparing the results of Flow 3D with measured water surface profile. Calibration the Flow 3D software could be conducted in two ways: first, changing the value of upstream boundary conditions is continued until the results of water surface profile of the Flow 3D along the spillway successfully covered the measurement water surface profile; second is the assessment the mesh sensitivity. Analyzing the size of mesh is a trial-and-error process where the size of mesh is evaluated form the largest to the smallest. With fining the size of mesh the accuracy of model is increased; whereas, the cost of computation is increased. In this research, the value of upstream boundary condition was adjusted with measured data during the experimental studies on the scaled model and the mesh size was equal to 1 × 1 × 1 cm³.

Results and discussion

The behavior of water in spillway is strongly affected by the flow pattern at the entrance of the spillway, the flow pattern formation at the entrance is affected by the guide wall, and choice of an optimized form for the guide wall has a great effect on rising the ability of spillway for easy passing the PMF, so any nonuniformity in flow in the approach channel can cause reduction of spillway capacity, reduction in discharge coefficient of spillway, and even probability of cavitation. Optimizing the flow guiding walls (in terms of length, angle and radius) can cause the loss of turbulence and flow disturbances on spillway. For this purpose, initially geometry proposed for model for the discharge of spillway dam, Kamal-Saleh, 80, 100, and 120 (L/s) were surveyed. These discharges of flow were considered with regard to the flood return period, 5, 100 and 1000 years. Geometric properties of the conducting guidance wall are given in Table 1.Table 1 Characteristics and dimensions of the guidance walls tested

Results of the CFD simulation for passing the flow rate 80 (L/s) are shown in Fig. 3. Figure 3 shows the secondary flow and vortex at the left guide wall.

For giving more information about flow pattern at the left and right guide wall, Fig. 4 shows the flow pattern at the right side guide wall and Fig. 5 shows the flow pattern at the left side guide wall.

With regard to Figs. 4 and 5 and observing the streamlines, at discharge equal to 80 (L/s), the right wall has suitable performance but the left wall has no suitable performance and the left wall of the geometric design creates a secondary and circular flow, and vortex motion in the beginning of the entrance of spillway that creates cross waves at the beginning of spillway. By increasing the flow rate (Q = 100 L/s), at the inlet spillway secondary flows and vortex were removed, but the streamline is severely distorted. Results of the guide wall performances at the Q = 100 (L/s) are shown in Fig. 6.

Also more information about the performance of each guide wall can be derived from Figs. 7 and 8. These figures uphold that the secondary and vortex flows were removed, but the streamlines were fully diverted specifically near the left side guide wall.

As mentioned in the past, these secondary and vortex flows and diversion in streamline cause nonuniformity and create cross wave through the spillway. Figure 9 shows the cross waves at the crest of the spillway.

The performance of guide walls at the Q = 120 (L/s) also was assessed. The result of simulation is shown in Fig. 10. Figures 11 and 12 show a more clear view of the streamlines near to right and left side guide wall, respectively. As seen in Fig. 12, the left side wall still causes vortex flow and creation of and diversion in streamline.

The results of the affected left side guide wall shape on the cross wave creation are shown in Fig. 13. As seen from Fig. 3, the left side guide wall also causes cross wave at the spillway crest.

As can be seen clearly in Figs. 9 and 13, by moving from the left side to the right side of the spillway, the cross waves and the nonuniformity in flow is removed. By reviewing Figs. 9 and 13, it is found that the right side guide wall removes the cross waves and nonuniformity. With this point as aim, a geometry similar to the right side guide wall was considered instead of the left side guide wall. The result of simulation for Q = 120 (L/s) is shown in Fig. 14. As seen from this figure, the proposed geometry for the left side wall has suitable performance smoothly passing the flow through the approach channel and spillway.

More information about the proposed shape for the left guide wall is shown in Fig. 15. As seen from this figure, this shape has suitable performance for removing the cross waves and vortex flows.

Figure 16 shows the cross section of flow at the crest of spillway. As seen in this figure, the proposed shape for the left side guide wall is suitable for removing the cross waves and secondary flows.

Conclusion

Analysis of behavior and hydraulic properties of flow over the spillway dam is a complicated task which is cost and time intensive. Several techniques suitable to the purposes of study have been undertaken in this research. Physical modeling, usage of expert experience, usage of mathematical models on simulation flow in one-dimensional, two-dimensional and three-dimensional techniques, are some of the techniques utilized to study this phenomenon. The results of the modeling show that the CFD technique is a suitable tool for simulating the flow pattern in the guide wall. Using this tools helps the designer for developing the optimal shape for hydraulic structure which the flow pattern through them are important.

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Department of Water Engineering, Lorestan University, Khorram Abad, IranAbbas Parsaie, Amir Hamzeh Haghiabi & Amir Moradinejad

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Correspondence to Abbas Parsaie.

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Parsaie, A., Haghiabi, A.H. & Moradinejad, A. CFD modeling of flow pattern in spillway’s approach channel. Sustain. Water Resour. Manag. 1, 245–251 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-015-0020-9

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Received28 April 2015
Accepted28 August 2015
Published15 September 2015
Issue DateSeptember 2015
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-015-0020-9

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Keywords

Approach channel
Kamal-Saleh dam
Guide wall
Flow pattern
Numerical modeling
Flow 3D software

원문 보기

Figure 3. FLOW-3D results for Strathcona Dam spillway with all gates fully open at an elevated reservoir level during passage of a large flood. Note the effects of poor approach conditions and pier overtopping at the leftmost bay.

BC Hydro Assesses Spillway Hydraulics with FLOW-3D

by Faizal Yusuf, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Specialist Engineer in the Hydrotechnical Department at BC Hydro

BC Hydro, a public electric utility in British Columbia, uses FLOW-3D to investigate complex hydraulics issues at several existing dams and to assist in the design and optimization of proposed facilities.

Faizal Yusuf, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., Specialist Engineer in the Hydrotechnical department at BC Hydro, presents three case studies that highlight the application of FLOW-3D to different types of spillways and the importance of reliable prototype or physical hydraulic model data for numerical model calibration.

W.A.C. Bennett Dam
At W.A.C. Bennett Dam, differences in the spillway geometry between the physical hydraulic model from the 1960s and the prototype make it difficult to draw reliable conclusions on shock wave formation and chute capacity from physical model test results. The magnitude of shock waves in the concrete-lined spillway chute are strongly influenced by a 44% reduction in the chute width downstream of the three radial gates at the headworks, as well as the relative openings of the radial gates. The shock waves lead to locally higher water levels that have caused overtopping of the chute walls under certain historical operations.Prototype spill tests for discharges up to 2,865 m3/s were performed in 2012 to provide surveyed water surface profiles along chute walls, 3D laser scans of the water surface in the chute and video of flow patterns for FLOW-3D model calibration. Excellent agreement was obtained between the numerical model and field observations, particularly for the location and height of the first shock wave at the chute walls (Figure 1).

W.A.C에서 Bennett Dam, 1960년대의 물리적 수력학 모델과 프로토타입 사이의 여수로 형상의 차이로 인해 물리적 모델 테스트 결과에서 충격파 형성 및 슈트 용량에 대한 신뢰할 수 있는 결론을 도출하기 어렵습니다. 콘크리트 라이닝 방수로 낙하산의 충격파 크기는 방사형 게이트의 상대적인 개구부뿐만 아니라 헤드워크에 있는 3개의 방사형 게이트 하류의 슈트 폭이 44% 감소함에 따라 크게 영향을 받습니다. 충격파는 특정 역사적 작업에서 슈트 벽의 범람을 야기한 국부적으로 더 높은 수위로 이어집니다. 최대 2,865m3/s의 배출에 대한 프로토타입 유출 테스트가 2012년에 수행되어 슈트 벽을 따라 조사된 수면 프로필, 3D 레이저 스캔을 제공했습니다. FLOW-3D 모델 보정을 위한 슈트의 수면 및 흐름 패턴 비디오. 특히 슈트 벽에서 첫 번째 충격파의 위치와 높이에 대해 수치 모델과 현장 관찰 간에 탁월한 일치가 이루어졌습니다(그림 1).

Figure 1. Comparison between prototype observations and FLOW-3D for a spill discharge of 2,865 m^3/s at Bennett Dam spillway.

The calibrated FLOW-3D model confirmed that the design flood could be safely passed without overtopping the spillway chute walls as long as all three radial gates are opened as prescribed in existing operating orders with the outer gates open more than the inner gate.

The CFD model also provided insight into the concrete damage in the spillway chute. Cavitation indices computed from FLOW-3D simulation results were compared with empirical data from the USBR and found to be consistent with the historical performance of the spillway. The numerical analysis supported field inspections, which concluded that deterioration of the concrete conditions in the chute is likely not due to cavitation.

Strathcona Dam
FLOW-3D was used to investigate poor approach conditions and uncertainties with the rating curves for Strathcona Dam spillway, which includes three vertical lift gates on the right abutment of the dam. The rating curves for Strathcona spillway were developed from a combination of empirical adjustments and limited physical hydraulic model testing in a flume that did not include geometry of the piers and abutments.

Numerical model testing and calibration was based on comparisons with prototype spill observations from 1982 when all three gates were fully open, resulting in a large depression in the water surface upstream of the leftmost bay (Figure 2). The approach flow to the leftmost bay is distorted by water flowing parallel to the dam axis and plunging over the concrete retaining wall adjacent to the upstream slope of the earthfill dam. The flow enters the other two bays much more smoothly. In addition to very similar flow patterns produced in the numerical model compared to the prototype, simulated water levels at the gate section matched 1982 field measurements to within 0.1 m.

보정된 FLOW-3D 모델은 외부 게이트가 내부 게이트보다 더 많이 열려 있는 기존 운영 명령에 규정된 대로 3개의 방사형 게이트가 모두 열리는 한 여수로 낙하산 벽을 넘지 않고 설계 홍수를 안전하게 통과할 수 있음을 확인했습니다.

CFD 모델은 방수로 낙하산의 콘크리트 손상에 대한 통찰력도 제공했습니다. FLOW-3D 시뮬레이션 결과에서 계산된 캐비테이션 지수는 USBR의 경험적 데이터와 비교되었으며 여수로의 역사적 성능과 일치하는 것으로 나타났습니다. 수치 분석은 현장 검사를 지원했으며, 슈트의 콘크리트 상태 악화는 캐비테이션 때문이 아닐 가능성이 높다고 결론지었습니다.

Strathcona 댐
FLOW-3D는 Strathcona Dam 여수로에 대한 등급 곡선을 사용하여 열악한 접근 조건과 불확실성을 조사하는 데 사용되었습니다. 여기에는 댐의 오른쪽 접합부에 3개의 수직 리프트 게이트가 포함되어 있습니다. Strathcona 여수로에 대한 등급 곡선은 경험적 조정과 교각 및 교대의 형상을 포함하지 않는 수로에서 제한된 물리적 수리 모델 테스트의 조합으로 개발되었습니다.

수치 모델 테스트 및 보정은 세 개의 수문이 모두 완전히 개방된 1982년의 프로토타입 유출 관측과의 비교를 기반으로 했으며, 그 결과 가장 왼쪽 만의 상류 수면에 큰 함몰이 발생했습니다(그림 2). 최좌단 만으로의 접근 흐름은 댐 축과 평행하게 흐르는 물과 흙채움댐의 상류 경사면에 인접한 콘크리트 옹벽 위로 떨어지는 물에 의해 왜곡됩니다. 흐름은 훨씬 더 원활하게 다른 두 베이로 들어갑니다. 프로토타입과 비교하여 수치 모델에서 생성된 매우 유사한 흐름 패턴 외에도 게이트 섹션에서 시뮬레이션된 수위는 1982년 현장 측정과 0.1m 이내로 일치했습니다.

Figure 2. Prototype observations and FLOW-3D results for a Strathcona Dam spill in 1982 with all three gates fully open.

The calibrated CFD model produces discharges within 5% of the spillway rating curve for the reservoir’s normal operating range with all gates fully open. However, at higher reservoir levels, which may occur during passage of large floods (as shown in Figure 3), the difference between simulated discharges and the rating curves are greater than 10% as the physical model testing with simplified geometry and empirical corrections did not adequately represent the complex approach flow patterns. The FLOW-3D model provided further insight into the accuracy of rating curves for individual bays, gated conditions and the transition between orifice and free surface flow.

보정된 CFD 모델은 모든 게이트가 완전히 열린 상태에서 저수지의 정상 작동 범위에 대한 여수로 등급 곡선의 5% 이내에서 배출을 생성합니다. 그러나 대규모 홍수가 통과하는 동안 발생할 수 있는 더 높은 저수지 수위에서는(그림 3 참조) 단순화된 기하학과 경험적 수정을 사용한 물리적 모델 테스트가 그렇지 않았기 때문에 모의 배출과 등급 곡선 간의 차이는 10% 이상입니다. 복잡한 접근 흐름 패턴을 적절하게 표현합니다. FLOW-3D 모델은 개별 베이, 게이트 조건 및 오리피스와 자유 표면 흐름 사이의 전환에 대한 등급 곡선의 정확도에 대한 추가 통찰력을 제공했습니다.

John Hart Dam
The John Hart concrete dam will be modified to include a new free crest spillway to be situated between an existing gated spillway and a low level outlet structure that is currently under construction. Significant improvements in the design of the proposed spillway were made through a systematic optimization process using FLOW-3D.

The preliminary design of the free crest spillway was based on engineering hydraulic design guides. Concrete apron blocks are intended to protect the rock at the toe of the dam. A new right training wall will guide the flow from the new spillway towards the tailrace pool and protect the low level outlet structure from spillway discharges.

FLOW-3D model results for the initial and optimized design of the new spillway are shown in Figure 4. CFD analysis led to a 10% increase in discharge capacity, significant decrease in roadway impingement above the spillway crest and improved flow patterns including up to a 5 m reduction in water levels along the proposed right wall. Physical hydraulic model testing will be used to confirm the proposed design.

존 하트 댐
John Hart 콘크리트 댐은 현재 건설 중인 기존 배수로와 저층 배수로 사이에 위치할 새로운 자유 마루 배수로를 포함하도록 수정될 것입니다. FLOW-3D를 사용한 체계적인 최적화 프로세스를 통해 제안된 여수로 설계의 상당한 개선이 이루어졌습니다.

자유 마루 여수로의 예비 설계는 엔지니어링 수력학 설계 가이드를 기반으로 했습니다. 콘크리트 앞치마 블록은 댐 선단부의 암석을 보호하기 위한 것입니다. 새로운 오른쪽 훈련 벽은 새 여수로에서 테일레이스 풀로 흐름을 안내하고 여수로 배출로부터 낮은 수준의 배출구 구조를 보호합니다.

새 여수로의 초기 및 최적화된 설계에 대한 FLOW-3D 모델 결과는 그림 4에 나와 있습니다. CFD 분석을 통해 방류 용량이 10% 증가하고 여수로 마루 위의 도로 충돌이 크게 감소했으며 최대 제안된 오른쪽 벽을 따라 수위가 5m 감소합니다. 제안된 설계를 확인하기 위해 물리적 수압 모델 테스트가 사용됩니다.

Figure 4. FLOW-3D model results for the preliminary and optimized layout of the proposed spillway at John Hart Dam.

Conclusion

BC Hydro has been using FLOW-3D to investigate a wide range of challenging hydraulics problems for different types of spillways and water conveyance structures leading to a greatly improved understanding of flow patterns and performance. Prototype data and reliable physical hydraulic model testing are used whenever possible to improve confidence in the numerical model results.

다양한 유형의 여수로 및 물 수송 구조로 인해 흐름 패턴 및 성능에 대한 이해가 크게 향상되었습니다. 프로토타입 데이터와 신뢰할 수 있는 물리적 유압 모델 테스트는 수치 모델 결과의 신뢰도를 향상시키기 위해 가능할 때마다 사용됩니다.

About Flow Science, Inc.
Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico USA, Flow Science was founded in 1980 by Dr. C. W. (Tony) Hirt, who was one of the principals in pioneering the “Volume-of-Fluid” or VOF method while working at the Los Alamos National Lab. FLOW-3D is a direct descendant of this work, and in the subsequent years, we have increased its sophistication with TruVOF, boasting pioneering improvements in the speed and accuracy of tracking distinct liquid/gas interfaces. Today, Flow Science products offer complete multiphysics simulation with diverse modeling capabilities including fluid-structure interaction, 6-DoF moving objects, and multiphase flows. From inception, our vision has been to provide our customers with excellence in flow modeling software and services.

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Numerical analysis of energy dissipator options using computational fluid dynamics modeling — a case study of Mirani Dam

전산 유체 역학 모델링을 사용한 에너지 소산자 옵션의 수치적 해석 — Mirani 댐의 사례 연구

Arabian Journal of Geosciences volume 15, Article number: 1614 (2022) Cite this article

Abstract

이 연구에서 FLOW 3D 전산 유체 역학(CFD) 소프트웨어를 사용하여 파키스탄 Mirani 댐 방수로에 대한 에너지 소산 옵션으로 미국 매립지(USBR) 유형 II 및 USBR 유형 III 유역의 성능을 추정했습니다. 3D Reynolds 평균 Navier-Stokes 방정식이 해결되었으며, 여기에는 여수로 위의 자유 표면 흐름을 캡처하기 위해 공기 유입, 밀도 평가 및 드리프트-플럭스에 대한 하위 그리드 모델이 포함되었습니다. 본 연구에서는 5가지 모델을 고려하였다. 첫 번째 모델에는 길이가 39.5m인 USBR 유형 II 정수기가 있습니다. 두 번째 모델에는 길이가 44.2m인 USBR 유형 II 정수기가 있습니다. 3번째와 4 ^번째모델에는 길이가 각각 48.8m인 USBR 유형 II 정수조와 39.5m의 USBR 유형 III 정수조가 있습니다. 다섯 번째 모델은 네 번째 모델과 동일하지만 마찰 및 슈트 블록 높이가 0.3m 증가했습니다. 최상의 FLOW 3D 모델 조건을 설정하기 위해 메쉬 민감도 분석을 수행했으며 메쉬 크기 0.9m에서 최소 오차를 산출했습니다. 세 가지 경계 조건 세트가 테스트되었으며 최소 오류를 제공하는 세트가 사용되었습니다. 수치적 검증은 USBR 유형 II( L = 48.8m), USBR 유형 III( L = 35.5m) 및 USBR 유형 III 의 물리적 모델 에너지 소산을 0.3m 블록 단위로 비교하여 수행되었습니다( L= 35.5m). 통계 분석 결과 평균 오차는 2.5%, RMSE(제곱 평균 제곱근 오차) 지수는 3% 미만이었습니다. 수리학적 및 경제성 분석을 바탕으로 4 ^번째 모델이 최적화된 에너지 소산기로 밝혀졌습니다. 흡수된 에너지 백분율 측면에서 물리적 모델과 수치적 모델 간의 최대 차이는 5% 미만인 것으로 나타났습니다.

In this study, the FLOW 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software was used to estimate the performance of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) type II and USBR type III stilling basins as energy dissipation options for the Mirani Dam spillway, Pakistan. The 3D Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations were solved, which included sub-grid models for air entrainment, density evaluation, and drift–flux, to capture free-surface flow over the spillway. Five models were considered in this research. The first model has a USBR type II stilling basin with a length of 39.5 m. The second model has a USBR type II stilling basin with a length of 44.2 m. The 3rd and 4^th models have a USBR type II stilling basin with a length of 48.8 m and a 39.5 m USBR type III stilling basin, respectively. The fifth model is identical to the fourth, but the friction and chute block heights have been increased by 0.3 m. To set up the best FLOW 3D model conditions, mesh sensitivity analysis was performed, which yielded a minimum error at a mesh size of 0.9 m. Three sets of boundary conditions were tested and the set that gave the minimum error was employed. Numerical validation was done by comparing the physical model energy dissipation of USBR type II (L = 48.8 m), USBR type III (L =35.5 m), and USBR type III with 0.3-m increments in blocks (L = 35.5 m). The statistical analysis gave an average error of 2.5% and a RMSE (root mean square error) index of less than 3%. Based on hydraulics and economic analysis, the 4^th model was found to be an optimized energy dissipator. The maximum difference between the physical and numerical models in terms of percentage energy absorbed was found to be less than 5%.

Keywords

Numerical modeling
Spillway
Hydraulic jump
Energy dissipation
FLOW 3D

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