CFD Modeling for Big Creek Barrier Dam Pump Station

摘要

This study investigated design options to increase the pumping capacity at an existing pump station. This required the installation of a second pump station, with additional pumps, and the construction of additional conveyance conduits from the pump station to combine in an existing discharge conduit. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to assess hydrodynamics and calculate dynamic losses for the current and proposed pump stations and discharge conduit arrangements. The model is based on the Open Source Field Operation and Manipulation (OpenFoam) CFD code. A sensitivity analysis was performed to test the robustness of the CFD model and understand model behaviour for extreme rough pipes. Dynamic losses computed with the CFD model include friction losses due to viscous effects by the surface pipes and minor losses occurring in components such as bends, tees, etc. This information is combined with the static loss due to the difference in potential energy between pumping elevations to calculate the total dynamic head (TDH) required for the pumps.