An aerator is frequently used to prevent cavitation damages in high-velocity spillways. To understand its characteristics, one often resorts to physical model tests. To complement physical model tests, computation fluid dynamics simulations are used to determine water-air flow behaviors. With Bergeforsen's 35 m wide aerator, numerical modeling has been performed to evaluate its performance and improve its configuration. The parameters of interest include spillway discharge capacity, air entrainment rate, duct subpressure and air concentration in the aerated flow. The simulated discharge capacity agrees reasonably with experimental data. Due to the larger chute width, empirical formulas do not reasonably predict the air demand. To provide the air required by the aerator, its distribution in the cavity must be guaranteed. We thus looked into the air supply system and the air flux in the cavity to improve the aerator function. Larger vent openings in the middle of the chute are preferable for large-width aerators.

A spillway aerator should guarantee favorable flow conditions in the coupled water-air system even if the aerator is unconventionally wide. Eight air-vent configurations are devised and incorporated into a 35-m wide chute aerator for a generalized study. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are performed to explore their effects on water-jet and air-cavity features. The Re-normalisation group (RNG) k - epsilon turbulence model and the two-fluid model are combined to predict the two-phase flow field. The results demonstrate appreciable influences of the vent layouts on the water-air flow. The air vents stir the air motion and re-distribute the cavity air pressure. Once the vent layout is modified, reciprocal adjustments exist between the jet behavior and air-pressure field in the cavity, thus leading to considerable differences in air-flow rate, jet-trajectory length, vent air-flow distribution across the chute, etc. The large width plays a discernable role in affecting the aerated flow. Telling differences exist between the near-wall region and the central part of the chute. To improve the duct pressure propagation, a gradual augment of the vent area should be assigned towards the chute center. Relative to single-slot vents across the flow, the layouts with segregated vents gain by comparison. A designer should see to it that a vented aerator operates satisfactorily for a given range of flow discharges.

The chute aerator of a spillway is a structure in such a sense that air is, in the intense emulsification, entrained into the high-velocity water flow. Correctly predicting the air entrainment and two-phase flow pattern at the aerator would contribute to reliable spillway operation. Based on experimental data, 2D numerical simulations are preformed to predict streamwise air concentrations in the aerated flow, in which a two-fluid model is used. Depending on the air bubble size, relatively good agreement is seen with the experiments in the air cavity zone. The simulations give rise to higher air concentration downstream of the cavity, which is presumably due to underestimation of the interfacial forces in the two-fluid model.

Mathematical formulations of two-phase flows at an aerator remain a challenging issue for spillway design. Due to their complexities in terms of water-air interactions subjected to high flow velocities, experiments play an essential role in evaluations of numerical models. The paper focuses on the underlying influence of the air-water momentum exchange in the two-phase Two-Fluid Model. It is modified to better represent the drag force acting on a group of air bubbles and the wall lubrication force accounting for near-wall phase interactions. Based on data from a large aerator rig with an approach velocity of 14.3 m/s, the models are evaluated for calculations of entrained air characteristics of a flow mixture. The air bubble diameter used in the modeling ranges from 0.5 to 4 mm as suggested by the experiments. In terms of air cavity configurations and aerator air demand, smaller air bubbles lead to better agreement with the test results. As far as air concentrations are concerned, the modified model gains by comparison. In the air cavity zone, smaller bubble sizes also provide better matches with the experiments. However, the near-base air concentration remains overestimated downstream from the impact area. The fact that the program user must pre-define a single air bubble size in simulations presumably limits the correct reproduction of near-base air concentrations and of their decay.

Air demand is an issue of concern for a spillway aerator. To numerically map its air-water flow behavior has a bearing on its design. The recently completed spillway at Bergeforsen features a 35-m wide chute aerator with 13 air vents. With this in background, CFD modelling is performed with three commonly used two-phase flow models, i.e. the Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) Model, Two-Fluid Model and Mixture Model. The purpose is to evaluate these models in terms of water-air flow properties. The simulations have shown that the VOF Model generates the lowest air demand, while the Two-Fluid Model points to a 34% higher value, which is attributable to the differences in the two-phase flow formulations. The resulting air pressure in the air cavity including the air groove leads also to considerable discrepancy in the vent air-flow distribution across the chute and spatial air concentration. Evaluations of two-phase models are necessary, so that a reliable model is adopted for engineering design.

The paper deals with a unique spillway which incorporates an aerator in each flip bucket with the intention to aerate the flow and avoid subatmospheric air cavities enclosed by the jets. In terms of jet breakup and stability, the physical models and the prototype lead to contradicting conclusions. With sealed aerators, the models exhibit intact air cavities featuring negative air pressure, suggesting the aeration need. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is performed to determine the reason for the discrepancy. Both the prototype observations and CFD indicate that the jets break up as a result of air entrainment; the resulting cavity air-pressure drops are insignificantly small. The discrepancy is due to the small model scale, in which the threshold flow velocity for air entrainment is not met and the prerequisite for jet breakup does not exist. To correctly reproduce similar water-air flow phenomena, the model should be large enough to meet the air-entrainment criterion. When questioning a small-scale model with air-cavity formation, CFD simulations should be performed to check the model results and make corrections, if needed.

Four image-based techniques-i.e., shadowgraphic image method (SIM), high-speed particle image velocimetry (HSPIV), bubble tracking method (BTM), and bubble image velocimetry (BIV)-are employed to investigate an aerator flow on a chute with a 17° inclination angle. The study focuses on their applications to the following issues: (1) to explore the characteristic positions of three water-air interfaces; (2) to interpret the evolution process of air bubbles shed from the wedged tip of the air cavity; (3) to identify the probabilistic means for characteristic positions near the fluctuating free surface; (4) to explore the probability distribution of intermittent appearance of air bubbles in the flow; (5) to obtain the mean streamwise and transverse velocity distributions of the water stream; (6) to acquire velocity fields, both instantaneous and mean, of air bubbles; (7) to construct a two-phase mean velocity field of both water flow and air-bubbles; and (8) to correlate the relationship among the probability distribution of air bubbles, the mean streamwise and transverse velocity profiles of air bubbles, and water stream. The combination of these techniques contributes to a better understanding of two-phase flow characteristics of the chute aerator.