Experimental study of velocity fields in rectangular shallow reservoirs

The Authors of the discussed paper present the results of an experimental study to improve the flow classification in rectangular shallow reservoirs. Although previous papers have paved the way for this classification (Dewals et al. 2008, Dufresne et al. 2010), the Authors are complemented for the detailed flow field measurements conducted for a high number of reservoir geometries.
For the tested hydraulic conditions, the Authors report a transition zone corresponding to an ‘unstable’ flow pattern. Repeated tests under similar conditions lead alternately to a symmetric or an asymmetric flow field. In this discussion, it is intended below to shed light on this transition zone using 2D numerical simulations. The Authors state that the flow in the transition zone is sensitive to so-called ‘external perturbations’, whereas we argue that the flow is particularly influenced by the initial test conditions. Using a particular post-processing of the computed flow fields, a hysteresis effect is detected.