Application of VOF and k-ε turbulence model in simulation of flow over a bottom aerated ramp and step structure

A three-dimensional numerical model of ANSYS, Fluent (2011) was employed for studying mid to high discharge supercritical two-phase flow over a single slope spillway with a single step for aeration of the flow. In this study 18 simulations were conducted using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method for air-water interface tracking and simple k-epsilon model for turbulence closure. Submerged circular shaped pipes located at the bottom of the step were utilized as aerators. Analyses concentrate on the air-entrainment phenomenon and jet-length of the flow from the step to the re-attachment point. The variables considered in the study are discharge, aerator size, different aerator arrangements, Froude number of the flow, presence of a ramp before the step and its angle. Observed jet-length values in this study were compared with two sets of empirical formulae from literature for code validation. Cross-sectional average of air concentration due to bottom aeration was determined in the streamwise direction downstream of the re-attachment of the jet. The air concentration is observed to follow a logarithmic decay in the flow direction within the de-aeration zone.