Analysis of the Hydraulic Field Around a Pier Adjacent to a Horizontal Vane

In open channel flow, the existence of two different hydrodynamic fields symbolizes a great challenge to the hydraulic stability of the flow in regions confined between these two structures. Therefore, this paper deals with this problem. A laminar, steady, incompressible water flow around the vane and the pier has been performed in two dimensions, adopting Fluent/ANSYS software. The change in values of the specific distance between the cylindrical pier and transverse vane, and also the change in Reynolds number value, is studied numerically to reveal how the hydraulic field behaves under these different cases. The pier diameter is used to define the vane dimensions (length and thickness); the vane length is described as equal to the diameter of the pier. The normalized values of static pressure, pressure coefficient, and dynamic pressure are employed to give a good idea about the hydraulic behavior of the hydraulic patterns around both the vane and the pier in open channel flow. These parameters have been investigated numerically at the pier perimeter, which relies on an angle computed from the center of the pier to a point located on the pier perimeter. The variation in hydraulic behavior relies on the velocity and pressure fields, respectively. We concluded that water dissipation, water separation, water velocity, and pressure field will dominate the hydraulic regime.