Towards simulating flow induced spillage in dredge cutter heads using DEM-FVM

Nieuwboer, B.J.; van Rhee, C.; Keetels, G.H.

doi:10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.113922

Towards simulating flow induced spillage in dredge cutter heads using DEM-FVM

Title

Towards simulating flow induced spillage in dredge cutter heads using DEM-FVM

Author

Nieuwboer, B.J. (Royal IHC)
van Rhee, C. (TU Delft Offshore and Dredging Engineering)
Keetels, G.H. (TU Delft Offshore and Dredging Engineering)

Date

2023

Abstract

When dredging rock using a Cutter Suction Dredger the high amount of spillage is problematic, since it prevents an energy efficient removal process. This papers presents a coupled DEM-FVM method to simulate spillage, that can be used for optimizing the design and working method of the Cutter Suction Dredger. In these simulations, the challenge was to model relatively large particles in a complex and rotating geometry. To ensure stability and reduce computational time we used smoothing kernels to map the forces and the concentration between the discrete elements and the fluid mesh. The method is validated for the fluid flow in the rotating cutter head. This model incorporates all physical processes to predict flow induced spillage in cutter heads within feasible calculation times.

Subject

Dredging
Cutter Suction Dredger
Computational fluid dynamics
Dynamic mesh
Discrete Element Method
OpenFOAM

To reference this document use:

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:cd43a7a0-1208-4479-9d14-beaba009ddbe

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.113922

ISSN

0029-8018

Source

Ocean Engineering, 275

Part of collection

Institutional Repository