High-resolution simulations of turbidity currents

Abstract

We employ direct numerical simulations of the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations, based on a continuum formulation for the sediment concentration, to investigate the physics of turbidity currents in complex situations, such as when they interact with seafloor topography, submarine engineering infrastructure and stratified ambients. In order to obtain a more accurate representation of the dynamics of erosion and resuspension, we have furthermore developed a grain-resolving simulation approach for representing the flow in the high-concentration region near and within the sediment bed. In these simulations, the Navier-Stokes flow around each particle and within the pore spaces of the sediment bed is resolved by means of an immersed boundary method, with the particle-particle interactions being taken into account via a detailed collision model.