Numerical Simulation on the Hydrodynamic Flow Performance and an Improve Design of a Circulating Water Channel

A Circulating Water Channel (CWC) is an important piece of equipment for hydrodynamic tests in ocean engineering, the quality of the flow field produced by the CWC directly affects the accuracy of the experimental results. Optimizing the key parts of the CWC device can efficiently improve the velocity uniformity and helps to achieve a high-level flow performance. In this paper, a CWC flume is set up numerically, and a series of hydrodynamic tests were carried out to evaluate the flow uniformity by optimizing the turning vane and contraction section. The numerical model is solved based on the RANS equation by using the RNG model to simulate turbulence. The improved design of the CWC includes the investigations of the flow guiding vane at the turning corners and the contraction section in the flow acceleration zone. The turning vane cross-sectional shape, the straight-edged length of the wing, and the layout of the contraction transition section design were considered and verified. The obtained results show that the wing-type turning vane with appropriate straight-edged length can help to improve the velocity uniformity of the flow field. The Witozinsky transition curve could achieve better pressure gradient effects for CWC contraction section design, and the flow uniformity improved by increasing the contraction transition length. Based on the optimal design, the internal flow characteristics of the circulating water channel have been greatly improved, laying a solid foundation for wind-wave-current multifunction CWC equipment applications for future experiments.