Comparison of DES and URANS: Estimation of fluctuating pressure from URANS simulations in stilling basins

This study conducts a comparative analysis between detached eddy simulation (DES) and Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) models for simulating pressure fluctuations in a stilling basin, aiming to assess the URANS mode’s performance in modeling pressure fluctuation. The URANS model predicts accurately a smoother flow field and its time-average pressure, yet it underestimates the root mean square of pressure (RMSP) fluctuation, achieving approximately 70% of the results predicted by DES model on the bottom floor of the stilling basin. Compared with DES model’s results, which are in alignment with the Kolmogorov −5/3 law, the URANS model significantly overestimates low-frequency pulsations, particularly those below 0.1 Hz. We further propose a novel method for estimating the RMSP in the stilling basin using URANS model results, based on the establishment of a quantitative relationship between the RMSP, time-averaged pressure, and turbulent kinetic energy in the boundary layer. The proposed method closely aligns with DES results, showing a mere 15% error level. These findings offer vital insights for selecting appropriate turbulence models in hydraulic engineering and provide a valuable tool for engineers to estimate pressure fluctuation in stilling basins.