A GAS-LIQUID TWO-PHASE APPROACH TO TURBULENT OPEN-CHANNEL FLOWS

Abstract

A method for predicting turbulent gas-liquid two-phase flows is developed. A level set method is used to capture the motion of the interface and a k-ω model is introduced as a turbulence model. The turbulence damping effects near the interface are modeled by considering the jump in the density profile across the interface as a special case of density-stratified flows. This multiphase approach enables us to treat a wide range of flows involving free surfaces in the same way, irrespective of the importance of the motion in the air phase. Computational results for a two-dimensional, fully-developed open-channel flow are given to illustrate the properties of the method along with a discussion of the future implications of these results for better performance.