Modeling Study of the Flow past Irregularities in a Pressure Conduit

Results are presented to investigate the characteristics of turbulent flow in a pressure conduit, such as water supply pipes and flood discharging tunnels. The turbulent flow governing equations, the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations, in conjunction with a k-epsilon turbulent model are numerically solved using SIMPLEC. The study focuses on the modeling and calculation of the flow velocity field, pressure distribution, and the incipient cavitation number of the surface irregularities in the conduit. Different types and sizes of irregularities are simulated for various incoming flow velocities. The computed results are in good agreement with laboratory experimental data.