Turbulent secondary flows in low aspect ratio open-channels over heterogeneous surfaces: Anisotropy in forces

Studies of turbulent flows over heterogeneous surfaces revealed elevated turbulent kinetic energy and Reynolds shear stress in low-momentum-path (LMP) regions. These regions induce large-scale multi-cellular secondary flows. The aim of the current study is to analyse the influence of these regions on drag, lift and lateral forces acting on spherical particles at different exposure levels, thereby addressing the hitherto unknown contribution of the spanwise inhomogeneities. For this reason, numerical simulations of turbulent open-channel flow with varying aspect ratio ( AR = 1, 3, 5) over single-sized spherical particles with diameter D was studied. Ensemble-averaged cross-flow velocity vectors showed large-scale secondary flows to penetrate in-between the spherical particles, therefore stretching over the entire flow depth. Their magnitude above 0.8 D was observed to range between 12.9% − 14.9% of U. Strong tertiary vortices in the vicinity of the lateral walls were identified by analysis of swirl strength. Triple decomposition of streamwise velocity fluctuations showed strong backflow at the trailing edge of the spherical particles in high-momentum-path (HMP) regions. Furthermore, it was found that drag forces are higher in HMPs, which is attributed to the larger streamwise pressure gradient.