Study of Scouring in Sand Induced by the Collapse of a Water Column

Abstract

An experimental and numerical study of the scour depth of coarse sand generated by the rupture of a water column is presented. Two aspect ratios of the water column height are considered to evaluate how the operating parameters affect the evolution of the free surface (water-air interface) and sand erosion (water-sand interface). The experiments are recorded in videos from which the gate opening speed, evolution of the free surface and scour depths are obtained through image postprocessing. To simulate the problem, a free code based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is used. Coarse sand is characterized in the laboratory and described as a non-Newtonian fluid. The objective is to establish the numerical parameters for adequately describing the problem through experimental validation of the model. Agreement is obtained between experimental data and numerical predictions of the evolution of the free surface and the scour depth that increases as the aspect ratio increases.