3D Numerical Modeling of Flows on a Physical Model of a Ski-Jump Spillway

Plunge pools are a very economical means of discharging high energy flows downstream of dams. However, the high energy discharge usually falls down from a considerable height with high velocity, which leads to the phenomenon of erosion due to the detachment and transport of solid particles by hydraulic forces. This pathology which is common in earth structures can lead to their failure, therefore, the understanding and the prediction of this risk are of paramount importance. In this study, a 3D numerical modeling with the LS-DYNA commercial code was developed using a coupled SPH-FEM method (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) and Finite element method (FEM)) to simulate the hydraulic behavior of a physical model Ski-Jump Spillway with dentates. The water flow in the tunnels and on the ski jumps, as well as the trajectories of the jets and the impact zones could be determined for several study cases. Several examples of validation, taken from the literature, demonstrate the precision and reliability of developed numerical models. 

Keywords: Coupled SPH-FEM approach, Hydraulic, Physical model, Spillway, Ski jump, Water flow.