Numerical Investigation on Flow Characteristics in a Mildly Meandering Channel with a Series of Groynes

Abstract

In single-bend channels or meandering channels, groynes are widely used as a river-training structure. Geometric factor is an important principle of groyne design. In this paper, the numerical method based on the Renormalization Group (RNG) k-ε turbulence model is used to study the effects of groynes with different lengths and orientations on the mean flow pattern and turbulence characteristics in a mildly meandering channel. The analysis shows that compared with equal-length groynes, the groynes arranged in descending order perform well in improving the flow velocity of the main channel, and the maximum longitudinal velocity at the channel center can be increased by 1.57 times the average velocity. However, at the same time, they bring higher Normalized Turbulent Kinetic Energy (NTKE) and Normalized Bed Shear Stress (NBSS) values. The attracting groynes arranged in descending order help to reduce scouring. The groynes arranged in ascending order reduce the velocity of the riverbank in some downstream areas and are suitable for bank protection. It effectively decreases the NTKE and NBSS around the groyne fields and can reduce the inner bank scouring of the mildly meandering channel. The findings are helpful for the management of meandering rivers.