Numerical Simulation on Complex Internal Flow Field and Structure Optimization for Draghead of Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger

摘要

In order to investigate the influence of the structure to the internal flowfield characteristics of the draghead, the numerical simulation methodand SST k-ω turbulence model were employed in this study for aprototype draghead of a large trailing suction hopper dredger. Thecomputational domain includes the flow fields of the whole dragheadand some suction pipe filled with polyhedral mesh elements. Theinternal flow characteristics and the vortex distribution law of theprototype draghead were obtained through the analysis of thecalculation results. Based on the basic principles of fluid mechanics, thestructure of the draghead was optimized and improved according to thegeneration region and the size of the vortex. The internal flow field ofthe improved draghead was calculated and the results were comparedwith those of the prototype draghead. The comparison results show thatthe vortex characteristics of the internal flow field were obviouslyimproved after the draghead was optimized. The vortex area and theinternal flow resistance of the draghead was reduced and the suctioncapacity was ameliorated.