Pore-resolved simulations of turbulent boundary layer flow over permeable and impermeable sediment beds

Abstract

Pore-resolved direct numerical simulations of turbulent open channel flow are performed comparing the structure and dynamics of turbulence over impermeable rough and smooth walls to a porous sediment bed at permeability Reynolds number ($Re_K$) of 2.6, representative of aquatic beds. Four configurations are investigated; namely, (i) permeable bed with randomly packed sediment grains, (ii) an impermeable-wall with full layer of roughness elements matching the top layer of the sediment bed, (iii) an impermeable-wall with half layer of roughness elements , and (iv) a smooth wall. A double-averaging methodology is used to compute the mean velocity, Reynolds stresses, form-induced stresses, and turbulent kinetic energy budget. It is observed that the mean velocity, Reynolds stresses, and form-induced pressure-velocity correlations representing upwelling and downwelling fluxes are similar in magnitude for the permeable-bed and impermeable-full layer wall cases. However, for the impermeable-half layer case, the wall blocking effect results in higher streamwise and lower wall-normal stresses compared to the permeable-bed case. Bed roughness increases Reynolds shear stress whereas permeability has minimal influence. Bed permeability, in contrast to Reynolds stresses, significantly influences form-induced shear stress. Bed shear stress statistics show that probability of extreme events increases in permeable bed and rough wall cases as compared to the smooth wall. Findings suggest that bed permeability can have significant impact on modeling of hyporheic exchange and its effect on bed shear and pressure fluctuations are better captured by considering at least the top layer of sediment.