ABSTRACT
In the present study, density currents propagating through floating vegetation are investigated numerically in order to examine the effect of floating vegetation on the hydrodynamics of the currents. The simulation is referred to lock-exchange flows in a tank with a lock separating an area with open water and an area with a floating aquatic canopy of height h. The CFD code Fluent is used for solving the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations and the effect of vegetation is taken into account through additional terms in these equations. The VOF method is enabled for “tracking” the interface between the two fluids. Cases with different vegetation density (porosity), vegetation height and density difference have been examined in order to estimate their effect on the flow. Numerical results for the velocity, the flow rate and the Froude number of the gravity currents are presented. These results are compared and are found in satisfactory agreement with available experimental data (Zhang & Nepf 2011).
