Hydrodynamic Investigation of Turbulence Flow and Sediment Transport Pattern by CCHE2D: A Case Study of Downstream Meander of Minab Dam

Study of turbulent flow and sediment transport pattern in rivers, especially erodible reach is utmost importance. With regard to the complex process of sedimentation and erosion in meander reach and significance role of the flow velocity and shear stress forces on river bank erosion, two-dimensional numerical modeling as CCHE2D was performed to simulate flow and sediment patterns of a meandering river reach located in the downstream of the Minab dam (Hormozgan province, Iran). Using topographic data obtained from field surveys and then the geometry model and the computational mesh (grid) with different dimensions and also field measurements of flow and sediment characteristics such as velocity, depth and suspended load, the two-dimensional hydrodynamic model was run. Simulated data were compared with observed ones in order to assess the velocity horizontal profile gradients, the distribution of shear stress and the flow depth condition, erosion and deposition in curved parts of the river channel. Furthermore, two statistical criteria (RMSE and MAPE) were used to evaluate the performance of the model. The results indicated that the simulated values are in good agreement with the field measurements. Also, results showed that simulating the flow pattern, by k-ε model has a better performance in predicting of turbulence closure areas in concave portions of the river bends than Eddy Viscosity model.