Numerical Simulation of the Flow Pattern on Sharp and Broad Crested Side Weirs

Side weirs are installed on the side wall of main channels. By reaching the flow to the side weir, the exceeded flow falls from the side weir crest and is directs to the side channel. The flow within the channels with side weirs is considered as spatially varied flow. In this study, the three-dimensional flow in a rectangular channel with side weir was simulated by the FLOW-3D software. For simulating the turbulence of the flow, the standard and RNG turbulence models were used. According to the modeling results, the accuracy of the RNG turbulence model was higher than that of the standard model. Furthermore, the Volume of Fluid (VOF) model was used for estimating the variations of the flow free surface. In the study, the velocity was predicted with an acceptable accuracy. Also, the MARE values for the longitudinal, transverse and vertical components were estimated 0.480, 0.468 and 3.519 percent, respectively. Then, the effects of sharp and broad crested weirs on the characteristics of the flow field in the main channel along the side weir for three different models with width of 0.01, 0.05 and 0.15 m were investigated. According to the numerical modeling results, by increasing the width of the side weir crest the shear stress value in the vicinity of the side weir crest increase significantly.