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Title: A TWO-DIMENSIONAL LATTICE MODEL FOR DESCRIBING THE OPEN CHANNEL FLOW WITH VEGETATION

Author
item JIMENEZ, FRANCISCO - UNIV OF CORDOBA
item GIRALDEZ, JUAN - UNIV OF CORDOBA
item LAGUNA, ANA - UNIV OF CORDOBA
item BENNETT, SEAN - UNIV OF BUFFALO
item Alonso, Carlos

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/2006
Publication Date: 9/30/2006
Citation: Jimenez, F., Giraldez, J., Laguna, A., Bennett, S.J., Alonso, C.V. 2006. A two-dimensional lattice model for describing the open channel flow with vegetation. In: Ferreira, Alves, Leal and Cardoso (Eds). Proceedings River Flow 2006, September 6-8, 2006, Lisbon, Portugal. pp. 565-573.

Interpretive Summary: Interest has been renewed in understanding the interactions between stream flows and vegetation because of the growing demand for river restoration utilizing riparian corridors. To further this knowledge, a new particle-tracking computer model was used to simulate flow in a channel systematically vegetated with emergent, wooden-dowel clusters of varying density. Results show that the computer model reproduces correctly flow separation, dead zones, the influence of turbulent mixing on these flow structures, and the resulting mean meandering thalweg observed in previous experimental tests. The simulation runs confirm that the model is a valid tool to simulate the interaction between stream flows and riparian clusters. An important outcome of this study is to demonstrate the potential of this modeling tool for assisting in the design of vegetation plantings to transform straight, degraded stream corridors into more functional, aesthetically-pleasing meandering channels.

Technical Abstract: A 2D lattice Boltzmann model (LBM) is proposed for describing the turbulent shallow water flow in a vegetated channel. The flow turbulence is taken into account by means of the standard Smagorinsky subgrid-scale model. The drag stress exerted by the flow on the vegetation as well as the frictional effects of the channel bed and walls are included in the LBM main equation. The simulated results are compared to the experimental cross-stream profiles of flow velocity obtained when considering a flume with alternate vegetation zones in which a meandering flow pattern is developed. In addition, a study about the influence of the distance between these vegetated areas on the flow turbulent structures is also reported.