Application of a k–ε formulation to model the effect of submerged aquatic vegetation on turbulence induced by an oscillating grid

Oscillating-grid turbulence (OGT) in a homogeneous fluid has been widely investigated. In a recent paper Pujol et al. (2010) used an oscillating grid to mimic wind-generated turbulence. They quantified the vertical distribution of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) above and within different types of vegetation, which were simulated by constructing two different canopies at the bottom of a water tank. The first canopy, made of PVC cylinders, was rigid and the second, made of nylon threads, was semi-rigid. We propose a k–ε turbulence model to simulate the results obtained in their paper. Two source terms (∼(TKE)3/2) were added to a classical k–ε turbulence formulation to account for canopy dissipation. Results of the model show good agreement with experimental data.