Numerical investigation of flow patterns in rectangular shallow reservoirs

The present work gives findings profitable for the person who wants to evaluate an asymmetric detach-reattach flow. In this study, the capability of a two-dimensional shallow-water numerical model to simulate the symmetric and asymmetric flows that can take place in rectangular shallow reservoirs varying the lateral expansion ratio and the dimensionless length is investigated. For a large lateral expansion ratio, the use of two protocols of simulation highlighted a high sensitivity of the simulated flow pattern to the initial condition. Comparison between simulated results and experimental data showed a good agreement for the critical shape parameter (combination of the lateral expansion ratio and the dimensionless length) between symmetric and asymmetric flows. A good agreement was also found for the value of the shorter reattachment length of asymmetric flows. For small lateral expansion ratios, the agreement was not so good. The model was used for even larger lateral expansion ratios in order to numerically extend the experimental dataset. This predictive work showed that the shape parameter, whose expression was only based on experiments carried out for small lateral expansion ratios, was also relevant for larger values. Moreover, the predicted values of the shorter reattachment length were also consistent with a regression only based on experimental results.