Author(s): Ahmed Yahyaoui; Damien Violeau; Thomas Fonty; Olivier Simonin; Gerald Debenest; George Constantiniscu
Linked Author(s): Damien Violeau
Keywords: Array of cylinders; CFD; code_saturne; Head loss; Porous medium
Abstract: Urban and industrial intake systems must ensure a steady delivery of clean water, yet this operation is often threatened by the buildup of aquatic plants transported by floods or other environmental processes. These plants accumulate on the protective trash racks, progressively obstructing them and generating additional head losses, which can compromise the efficiency and safety of the installation [1]. To analyze how such vegetation alters the hydraulic behavior of the flow, a two-dimensional numerical investigation is carried out using the CFD software code_saturne developed by EDF R&D. The vegetated region is represented as a porous structure formed by an arrangement of rigid cylindrical obstacles, and the resulting free-surface variation along the porous zone is examined. The outcomes of this approach are then confronted with those obtained using a porosity model available in code_saturne.
Year: 2026