Groyne

Abstract: The exchange of dissolved matter between a groyne field and a main stream influences the transport and distribution of a pollutant cloud in a river. In forecasting models, groyne fields are represented as dead zones with effective properties like exchange coefficients and exchanging volume. Despite its relevance for such practical applications, little research has been done on the exchange process between a groyne field and the main stream itself. Therefore, this study is aimed at examining this exchange process and validating the dead-zone prediction model, which treats the exchange process as a first order system. A schematized physical model of a river with groynes was built in a laboratory flume. The exchange process was visualized quantitatively with dye in adjacent groyne fields. In order to couple the exchange process to the velocity field, particle tracking velocimetry measurements were performed. Two different types of exchange were observed. First, exchange takes place via the mixing layer that is formed at the river-groyne-field interface. The large eddies formed in the mixing layer are the major cause of this exchange. Second, under certain conditions, even larger eddies are shed from the upstream groyne tip. Distortions in the flow field caused by such intermittent structures cause a much larger exchange than that by the mixing layer alone. The occurrence of large shed eddies depends on the presence of a sufficiently large, stationary, secondary gyre located at the upstream corner of the groyne field. The overall exchange of matter could be characterized as a first-order process, in accordance with the dead-zone-theory. The corresponding exchange coefficients agreed reasonably well with the results of earlier experiments and the effective coefficients as found in experiments in real river flows.

Abstract: Model tests on beach movement under wave action have shown that for small angles of wave incidence the transport is proportional to this angle Under these conditions it is possible to determine analytically how the shape of the beach will alter in case when, on a straight coastline, a long structure has been built which completely eliminates beach movement for a certain length of time Some model tests have well confirmed this theory, which does not, however, apply to the "shadow zone"of the structure, not to the case of short structures

Abstract: This research is aimed at finding efficient alternative designs, in the physical, economical, and ecological sense, for the standard groynes as they are found in the large rivers of Europe In order to test the effects of various groyne shapes on the flow in a groyne field, experiments were performed in a physical model of a schematized river reach, geometrically scaled 1:40 Four different types of schematized groynes were tested, all arranged in an array of five identical groyne fields, ie, standard reference groynes, groynes with a head having a gentle slope and extending into the main channel, permeable groynes consisting of pile rows, and hybrid groynes consisting of a lowered impermeable groyne with a pile row on top Flow velocities were measured using particle tracking velocimetry The design of the experiment was such that the cross-sectional area blocked by the groyne was the same in all cases Depending on the groyne head shape and the extent of submergence variations in the intensity of vortex shedding and recirculation in the groyne field were observed The experimental data are used to understand the physical processes like vortex formation and detachment near the groyne head It is demonstrated that the turbulence properties near and downstream of the groyne can be manipulated by changing the permeability and slope of the groyne head It is also observed that for submerged conditions the flow becomes complex and locally dominated by three-dimensional effects, which will make it difficult to predict by applying depth average numerical models or by three-dimensional models with a coarse resolution in the vertical direction

Abstract: The three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation of a steady, shallow turbulent flow around a groyne in a rectangular channel is presented. A method used to track a moving surface boundary and to follow its evolution, using a one-phase 3D Reynolds solver with rigid grids, by means of a transient fraction of fluid or “porosity” field is applied. Some results are compared with experimental data, such as the isolines of water depths and the mean velocity field. A comparison of the reattachment length prediction using the free-surface model and the rigid-lid assumption is given. Other results concerning the pressure field, turbulence, or shear stress distribution are presented and analyzed.

Abstract: The depth-averaged velocity and bottom shear stress distributions in a rectangular channel near a groyne are computed by using a 2-D depth averaged model. The model uses a hybrid finite difference scheme and an iterative method to solve the governing equations of flow and turbulence transport. Due to streamline curvature effects in the region near the groyne tip, a correction factor is incorporated into the \Ik\N=ϵ\N turbulence model that significantly improves the agreement between the computed and experimental data of the velocities and of the streamline pattern compared to previous numerical methods. In this region the bottom shear stress is found to be largely influenced by the 3-D effects. A 3-D correction factor is introduced which considerably improves the computed bottom shear stresses. Sensitivity analysis is made on the \Ik\N=ϵ\N model coefficients and on the correction factors of the streamline curvature and the 3-D effects. The experimental errors in the velocity and bottom shear stress measurements are analyzed. The average errors between the computed and previous experimental results are presented with confidence intervals.