Simulation of scour process in plunging pool of loose bed-material

The scouring process in a plunge pool of loose bed with uniform bed-materials due to a two-dimensional plane impinging jet was simulated computationally. The finite-element-based unsteady three-dimensional model, CCHE3D, with k-epsilon turbulence closure was employed to solve the flow field. It has long been recognized that the unsteady behavior of the turbulent jet fluctuation plays an important role in scouring and transporting sediment in the plunge pool. In order to model this phenomenon realistically, one has to consider the effects of both shear stress and the life force on sediment particles due to pressure fluctuation. The latter has been taken into account by using empirical relationships of flume data. Both of these effects have been incorporated in the nonequilibrium sediment transport model consisting of sediment pickup rate and step length adopted for the jet scour problem. The model constant relating to the fluctuating lift force was calibrated using an empirical equation to predict the quasi-equilibrium scour depth. The results simulated by the model proposed here agree reasonably well with experimental data.