NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF DRAG EROSION
Laminar Erosion, Numerical Methods, Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics, Erosion Rate, Hydraulic Channel
In the present work, numerical models and laboratory tests are presented to simulate surface erosion problems due to particle capture, in an open flow channel. For both approaches, the study aims to predict a rate of material eroded from a sediment bed due to water action. The analysis of the results obtained experimentally seeks to evaluate the factors that influence bed erosion rates, these being increases in flow speed and channel tension. The analysis of the results obtained numerically seeks to achieve erosion rate values similar to those obtained in laboratory tests, proving the effectiveness of the method used. For numerical simulations, the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics – SPH numerical method was used, through the DualSPHysics code implemented with hydraulic premiums based on the Shields parameter. The classifications can adequately estimate the mass of material eroded under low-velocity flow conditions in superficial regions, making them ideal for problems involving open flow channels. To conduct numerical erosion simulations, a multiphase approach is adopted that integrates fluid constitutive models with principles of open channel hydraulics and rupture criteria from Geomechanics. Using the SPH method, which is Lagrangian and meshless, it is possible to efficiently deal with multiphase problems involving free surfaces and large material displacements. This technique allows simulations to be carried out under different flow conditions in relatively short time intervals. In the methodology proposed here, water and sediment are considered as Newtonian and pseudo-Newtonian fluids, respectively, being represented by particles distributed throughout physical space.