Numerical and experimental investigation of three-dimensionality in the dam-break flow against a vertical wall

The three-dimensionality extent of the dam break flow over a vertical wall is investigated numerically and experimentally in this paper. The numerical method is based on Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS) equation that describes the three-dimensional incompressible turbulent flow. The free surface is captured by using the unstructured multi-dimensional interface capturing(UMTHINC) scheme. The equations are discretized on 2-D and 3-D unstructured grids using finite volume method. The numerical simulations are compared with newly conducted experiment with emphasis on the effect of three-dimensionality on both free surface and impact pressure. The comparison between the numerical and experimental results shows good agreement. Furthermore, the results also show that 3-D motion of the flow originates at the moment of impact at the lower corners of the impact wall and propagates to the inner region as time advances. The origin of the three-dimensionality is found to be the turbulence development as well as the relative velocity between the side wall region and the inner region of the wave front at the moment of impact.