Dams & Spillways
FLOW-3D HYDRO is a highly effective tool for dam professionals who are looking to improve the efficiency and performance of their hydroelectric power projects. With its advanced free-surface flow modeling capabilities and exceptional accuracy, it is well-suited for modeling a wide range of design problems for both existing and proposed projects. Additionally, FLOW-3D HYDRO is easy to use and seamlessly integrates with high performance computing platforms. This makes it an ideal solution for dams and spillways of all shapes and sizes, from the simplest ogee to the most complex geometric configurations. Some common challenges that FLOW-3D HYDRO can address include improving flow efficiency and distribution at intakes and spillways, performing complex environmental impact assessments of dams, and designing and optimizing fish passages. Overall, FLOW-3D HYDRO is a powerful and versatile tool that can help dam professionals achieve their goals and maximize the efficiency of their projects.
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There are many examples of how computational fluid dynamics (CFD) being used to model flow behavior in dams and spillways.
Ports & Coastal
Port and coastal, engineering poses a variety of complex challenges, such as major port development, environmental analysis, and coastal analysis. To solve these challenges, engineers must consider efficient parameter such as the interactions between waves, structures, erosion, air entrainment, and variable density flows. FLOW-3D HYDRO is designed to address these complex scenarios with advanced water-focused models and the TruVOF-free surface tracking method. With FLOW-3D HYDRO, engineers can model large amplitude non-linear wave propagation over complex topography and coastal structures, making it an ideal tool for analyzing the performance of complex wave and structure interaction. FLOW-3D HYDRO can address a range of issues, including hydrodynamic loading on coastal infrastructure, wave transmission, overtopping, floating structure dynamics, and transport of coastal outfalls.
Rivers & Environmental
When highly accurate and detailed 3D non-hydrostatic modeling capabilities are required, FLOW-3D HYDRO is an advanced modeling tool that can provide exceptional model resolution. This software is commonly used in a variety of applications related to transportation hydraulics, small dams and infrastructure, complex 3D river hydraulics, thermally buoyant plumes, outfalls, and contaminant transport. FLOW-3D HYDRO features a shallow water model that can be dynamically linked with a full 3D model. This allows users to extend the model domains for multiscale modeling applications, maximizing computational efficiency while maintaining required model resolution. Additionally, FLOW-3D HYDRO includes advanced physics specifically designed for river and environmental applications, making it a versatile and powerful tool for engineers and researchers in these fields.
Water Treatment
Water and wastewater presents unique and complex modeling challenges. Moving water through a treatment plant involves a combination of flow diversions, flow splitting, free surface and pressurized pipe flow conditions, with head loss and detailed velocity fields all important modeling outcomes. Other challenges in process modeling include aeration, hindered settling, chemistry, and impeller motion. FLOW-3D HYDRO offers advanced auxiliary models that allow modelers to go beyond the hydraulics of the flow. Grit removal, chlorine contact tanks, sludge settling, and aeration all have their own dedicated models, providing the user with full flexibility to choose the level of sophistication of their modeling effort. With its TruVOF capabilities, FLOW-3D HYDRO can seamlessly handle a range of free surface and pressurized flow conditions, making it an ideal tool for water and wastewater recovery facilities.
Conveyance Infrastructure
CFD modeling in urban water systems presents some of the most exciting and challenging applications for engineers. The hydraulics in these systems offer an infinite number of variations, from free surface to pressurized flow conditions, often with turbulent and energetic flows that require considerations of the air phase, air entrainment and bulking, or grit and sediment movement. FLOW-3D HYDRO has a proven track record of delivering highly accurate representations of these flows and allows modelers to access many advanced modeling features to further capture air phase and grit considerations. FLOW-3D HYDRO offers advanced investigations of conveyance infrastructure, including hydraulic control structures, drop structures, flow splitters, energy dissipaters, pump stations, combined sewer overflows (CSOs), sewers, and wet tunnel designs. With FLOW-3D HYDRO, engineers can model a wide range of scenarios and optimize the performance and efficiency of urban water systems.