Simulation and Experimental Analysis on the Load Characteristics of a Temperature-Control Curtain in a Thermally-Stratified Reservoir

Abstract

Low-temperature discharged water from thermally-stratified reservoirs in spring and summer will have a negative environmental impact on fish breeding and agricultural irrigation downstream. The temperature-control curtain (TCC) is a selective withdrawal structure that can effectively change the discharged water temperature. Compared with a traditional selective withdrawal project, a TCC project has the advantages of low cost and simple construction and can even be added to operating reservoirs without impacting power generation. Analysis of the load characteristics is the key to the application of TCC engineering. This paper establishes a three-dimensional numerical model simulation and verifies it with physical model experimental results. The crucial parameters affecting the load characteristics of TCC are investigated, including the water blocking rate, area ratio, inclination ratio, inflow velocity, and water temperature stratification ratio. The results show that: (1) This numerical simulation approach can be used to predict the drag coefficient and the load of a TCC; (2) the water blocking rate has the greatest influence on the drag coefficient, and it is the most critical indicator of the TCC load; and (3) the drag coefficient exponentially increases with an increasing water blocking rate, quadratically increases with an increasing area ratio, linearly increases with an increasing inclination ratio, and linearly increases with an increasing water temperature stratification ratio.