Estuaries depend on the transport of nutrients and sediments from the open sea to help maintain a prosperous environment. One of the major transport mechanisms is the propagation of large two dimensional vortical structures. At the mouth of an inlet, tidal flow forces the formation of two dimensional vortical structures whose lateral extent is much greater than the water depth. After the starting jet vortex dipole detaches from the inlet, secondary vortices shed due to separation from the inlet boundary and eventually reach the starting-jet dipole. An idealized inlet con figuration was utilized for laboratory experiments detailing the formation and propagation of the vortex structures with water depths of 3, 5, and 9 centimeters and flow Froude scaled to inlets along the Texas coast. Using surface particle image velocimetry, the entrainment of the secondary structures into the vortex system are shown as well as variations in characteristics such as trajectory, size, vorticity, and circulation for the vortices as they move downstream.

Flood inundation is a major natural hazard that can have very severe socio-economic consequences. This thesis presents an enhanced numerical model for flood simulation. After setting the context by examining recent large-scale flood events, a literature review is provided on shallow flow numerical models. A new version of the hyperbolic horizontal variable density shallow water equations with source terms in balanced form is used, designed for flows over complicated terrains, suitable for wetting and drying fronts and erodible bed problems. Bed morphodynamics are included in the model by solving a conservation of bed mass equation in conjunction with the variable density shallow water equations. The resulting numerical scheme is based on a Godunov-type finite volume HLLC approximate Riemann solver combined with MUSCL-Hancock time integration and a non-linear slope limiter and is shock-capturing. The model can simulate trans-critical, steep-fronted flows, connecting bodies of water at different elevations. The model is validated for constant density shallow flows using idealised benchmark tests, such as unidirectional and circular dam breaks, damped sloshing in a parabolic tank, dam break flow over a triangular obstacle, and dam break flow over three islands. The simulation results are in excellent agreement with available analytical solutions, alternative numerical predictions, and experimental data. The model is also validated for variable density shallow flows, and a parameter study is undertaken to examine the effects of different density ratios of two adjacent liquids and different hydraulic thrust ratios of species and liquid in mixed flows. The results confirm the ability of the model to simulate shallow water-sediment flows that are of horizontally variable density, while being intensely mixed in the vertical direction. Further validation is undertaken for certain erodible bed cases, including deposition and entrainment of dilute suspended sediment in a flat-bottomed tank with intense mixing, and the results compared against semi-analytical solutions derived by the author. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the model in simulating a complicated variable density shallow flow, the validated numerical model is used to simulate a partial dam-breach flow in an erodible channel. The calibrated model predictions are very similar to experimental data from tests carried out at Tsinghua University. It is believed that the present numerical solver could be useful at describing local horizontal density gradients in sediment laden and debris flows that characterise certain extreme flood events, where sediment deposition is important.

Le travail présenté ici a pour objet l’étude de la zone de recirculation qui se développe à l’aval d’un élargissement brusque ayant lieu dans un canal à surface libre, avec une attention particulière portée sur la longueur de recirculation. Ce travail consiste en une approche combinée expérimentale et numérique. L’analyse dimensionnelle ainsi que les travaux préliminaires antérieurs à cette thèse montrent que la longueur de recirculation adimensionnée dépend de 3 paramètres que sont : le nombre de frottement S, la hauteur d’eau adimensionnée par la taille de l’élargissement h/d et enfin le rapport géométrique de l’élargissement Rb. Cependant, faire varier dans les expériences S ou h/d sans affecter l’autre paramètre s’avère être une tâche très délicate qui a été négligée dans les études précédentes. En utilisant cette même approche, les résultats présentés ici font état d’une forme de cloche très inattendue de la courbe : L/d= f (S). Ces résultats sont en fort désaccord avec ceux de la littérature. Afin d’améliorer notre approche et de faire varier S et h/d indépendamment, une campagne de modélisation numérique 3D est menée et prouve que L/d dépend en fait des deux paramètres considérés S et h/d et que la forme de cloche résulte des influences opposées de ces deux paramètres. De plus, l’analyse de la couche de mélange qui prend place entre la zone de recirculation et l’écoulement principal, mesurée expérimentalement pour 4 écoulements à différentes valeurs de S et h/d montre que la longueur de la zone de recirculation est gouvernée par le confinement latéral dû à la paroi latérale et à la taille des cellules turbulentes advectée le long de la couche de mélange. Pour aller plus loin, les bilans de quantité de mouvement et d’énergie à l’échelle de l’écoulement dans son ensemble montrent que i) la force de cisaillement exercée le long de la couche de mélange est négligeable par rapport aux autres forces mises en jeu et ii) que la réelle signification de S est de quantifier l’intensité du frottement du fond à l’échelle de l’écoulement global intervenant dans ces bilans. Les différents régimes d’écoulement qui peuvent être rencontrés dépendent donc: i) selon la valeur du nombre de frottement S l’écoulement peut être frictionnel (S élevé) ou non-frictionnel (S faible) et ii) selon la valeur de la hauteur d’eau adimensionnelle, l’écoulement peut être confiné verticalement (faible valeur de h/d) ou non-confiné (forte valeur de h/d). Une corrélation empirique permettant d’estimer la longueur de la zone de recirculation L/d en fonction des paramètres S, Rb and h/d est finalement obtenue. Elle s’avère être en bon accord avec les calculs numériques et les mesures expérimentales. / The present research focuses on the recirculation zone developing downstream of an expansion in a shallow open-channel flow with a specific attention on its length. The work consists of combined experimental and numerical approaches. The dimensional analysis and previous studies permit to express the dimensionless recirculation length as a function of 3 parameters: the friction number S, the ratio between the water depth and the expansion step h/d and the geometrical aspect ratio Rb. Nevertheless, varying either S or h/d on the experimental set-up without affecting the other is a complicated task which was not performed by previous studies. Following this approach permitted to obtain an unexpected bell shape for the L/d=f(S) curve, differing form the literature results. In order to improve the approach and vary S and h/d independently, a 3D numerical campaign was performed and proved that L/d actually depends both on S and h/d parameters and that the bell shape is in fact the consequence of the opposite influence of both parameters. Moreover, the precise experimental analysis of themixing layer at the frontier between the main flow and the recirculation for flows with different S and h/d values showed that the recirculation length is governed by the lateral confinement due to the reattachment wall and the size of the eddies present in the mixing layer. Hence, an integral approach is adopted, using balances of momentum and of energy at the whole flow scale, showing: i) that the shear force exerted along the mixing layer is negligible compared to the other forces and ii) that the meaning of S parameter is to quantify the intensity of the bottom friction of the whole flow on these balance. The following regimes can thus be encountered: i) according to the bed friction S values, the flow can be non-frictional (small S) or frictional (large S) and ii) according to the relative water depth, the flow can be vertically unconfined (large h/d) or confined (small h/d). An empirical correlation permitting to estimate the recirculation length L/d as a function of S, Rb and h/d is finally obtained and appears to fairly fit the numerical calculations and experimental measurements.