Numerical modelling of the flow and settling in a trailing suction hopper dredge

摘要

A Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge (TSHD) is loaded by pumping a sand-water mixture in the cargo hold, the so-called hopper. Sand settles in the hopper and the excess water flows overboard. During the loading stage a part of the volume of sand pumped in the hopper will not settle but is lost with the overflow. In this paper a two-dimensional numerical model to simulate the flow and settling in a hopper will be presented. The model is based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes equations with a k-epsilon turbulence model. The model includes the influence of the overflow level of the hopper (moving water surface) and a moving sand bed due to the filling of the hopper. The influence of the particle size distribution (PSD) is included in the sediment transport equations. The computational results will be compared with experiments and prototype measurements.