Effect of Turbulent Dissipation on the Dynamics of Dam Break Flow

Abstract

The effect of turbulence on the dynamics of three-dimensional dam break flow is numerically investigated on the basis of the incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with the volume of fluid (VOF) function. It is found that the tip velocity over the ground and the impact pressure on the vertical wall in the Launder-Gibson (LG) model are in good agreement with experimental results. % The dynamics of the dam break flow is subject to the viscous dissipation during the collapse of the flow, which is underestimated in the laminar model and overestimated in the realizable k-ε (RKE) model. The turbulent viscous dissipation near the free surface is comparable to that in the water in the LG model.