Numerical investigations of mean flow and turbulence structures of partly-vegetated open-channel flows using the Reynolds stress model

A Reynolds stress model for the numerical simulation of partly-vegetated flows is presented. The model uses Speziale, Sarkar, and Gatski's model for the pressure-strain correlation, Mellor and Herring's model and Rotta's model for the diffusion and the dissipation rate of the Reynolds stress, respectively. The model is applied to partly-vegetated rectangular open-channel flows, and simulated results are compared with experimental data. The model satisfactorily predicts mean flow and turbulence statistics. Through numerical experiments, the evolution of secondary current patterns and mean flow structure are presented for different densities of vegetation. A budget analysis of the streamwise vorticity equation is also performed to investigate the mechanism by which secondary currents in a partly-vegetated open-channel flow are generated. In the vegetated zone, the production by anisotropy is important in generating secondary currents over the entire depth, except for regions close to the free surface and the bottom where Reynolds shear stress plays a key role. This is different from the vortical structure of plain open-channel flows.