Numerical simulation of an air-core vortex at a hydraulic intake using OpenFOAM

Abstract

A vortex is a ubiquitous everyday phenomenon that is observed in nature and it is formed due to the rotational motion of fluid around an axis perpendicular to the free surface. Free surface vortices are a common unwanted occurrence at hydraulic intakes which can cause serious detrimental impacts on mechanical devices such as turbines and pumps. In this paper, an experimentally observed air-core vortex is numerically simulated using the OpenFOAM LTSInterFoam solver. The LTSInterFoam solver has hitherto been mainly used for hydrodynamic studies relating to ship manoeuvrability by researchers. This solver uses a local time stepping approach to speed up convergence towards steady state conditions thus overcoming some of the challenges associated with the use of the conventional interFoam solver for the simulation of free surface vortices. The Shear Stress Transport (SST) k−ω Model was used for the simulation. There was generally good agreement when results from the study were compared with other vortex-related analytical models and experimental data. Overall, the study concludes that the OpenFOAM LTSInterFoam solver is capable of simulating free surface vortices at hydraulic intakes. However, being a steady state solver, the solver cannot account for the transient process involved in the evolution of free surface vortices.