Numerical Simulation of Air Distribution in a Wide Chute

Desirable conditions of airflow should be provided for spillway chute aerators in two-phase air-water flow, especially in large-width chutes. There is no general approach to determine air entrainment, concentration distribution, and submergence along a chute introduced by an aerator shaft. The two-phase air-water modeling of Gavoshan dam in Iran as a case study of chute flow, its aerator, and the characteristics of flow into the cavity formed below the jet have been numerically investigated, and the results obtained have been validated against the laboratory experiments. The hydraulic parameters of the cavity and aerator shaft were determined to evaluate their performance and emphasize the importance of a proper aerator design. Sections with a greater distance from the bottom of the chute exhibit higher pressure magnitudes, while the mean air concentration values in the cavity are smaller in sections close to a ramp. Higher water discharge, lower pressure head in sections near the bottom of the cavity, and lower air concentration in sections near the ramp into the cavity increase the probability of cavitation occurrence.