Comparison of DES and URANS:Estimation of fluctuating pressure from URANS simulations in stilling basins

This study conducts a comparative analysis between detached eddy simulation(DES)and Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes(URANS)models for simulating pressure fluctuations in a stilling basin,aiming to assess the URANS mode’s performance in modeling pressure fluctuation.The URANS model predicts accurately a smoother flow field and its time-average pressure,yet it underestimates the root mean square of pressure(RMSP)fluctuation,achieving approximately 70%of the results predicted by DES model on the bottom floor of the stilling basin.Compared with DES model’s results,which are in alignment with the Kolmogorov−5/3 law,the URANS model significantly overestimates low-frequency pulsations,particularly those below 0.1 Hz.We further propose a novel method for estimating the RMSP in the stilling basin using URANS model results,based on the establishment of a quantitative relationship between the RMSP,time-averaged pressure,and turbulent kinetic energy in the boundary layer.The proposed method closely aligns with DES results,showing a mere 15%error level.These findings offer vital insights for selecting appropriate turbulence models in hydraulic engineering and provide a valuable tool for engineers to estimate pressure fluctuation in stilling basins.