Session: 06-03-06 Fluid-Structure, Multi-body and Wave-body Interaction VI

Paper Number: 127668

127668 - Arrangement Effects on Flow Through a Porous Obstruction 

Aquatic flow through a porous obstruction occurs ubiquitously in natural and engineered systems, such as flows through patches of aquatic vegetation, groups of bridge piers, pile foundations, and arrays of tidal stream turbines. The elements consisting of the porous obstruction are often arranged in various arrangements. The arrangement here refers to the positioning between elements relative to the incident flow. Understanding the arrangement effects on flow through a porous obstruction can provide guidelines in designing the offshore structures and arranging transplanted seagrass shoots in restoration programs to either reduce the hydrodynamic forces on these systems or changing the velocity through them. This paper presents results from two-dimensional direct numerical simulations and laboratory experiments that have been undertaken to examine the arrangement effects on flow through a circular array of cylinders modelling a porous obstruction. It is found that the velocity through a porous array and the drag acting on the array are highly dependent on the incident flow angle. As varying the incident flow angle by 30°, the velocity through the array can be increased by a factor up to 3. This work, incorporating a number of different study elements, allows for an improved understanding of flow through porous obstructions in a steady current.

Presenting Author: Fei He The University of Western Australia

Presenting Author Biography: Fei He is currently working as a Research Associate (post-doc) within ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Transforming energy Infrastructure through Digital Engineering (TIDE ITRH) at the University of Western Australia. He completed PhD on hydrodynamics of a porous obstruction in a steady current at UWA. Fei's expertise relates to bluff body flows and environmental fluid mechanics.

Authors:

Fei He The University of Western Australia
Hongwei An The University of Western Australia
Scott Draper The University of Western Australia
Marco Ghisalberti The University of Western Australia
Paul Branson CSIRO
Liang Cheng The University of Western Australia