Simulation study on submarine trench gravel dumping under the influence of hydrodynamics

Abstract

Abstract Gravel drift under the hydrodynamic effect is a significant problem during gravel dumping operations in coastal areas, which has a great impact on construction efficiency. Based on the Zhangpu submarine pipeline project, this paper investigated the drift distance and underwater distribution characteristics of gravel during the process of submarine trench gravel dumping under the influence of hydrodynamics by using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The results show that the greater the water depth and current speed is, the farther the drift distance of gravel along the current direction is. The water current has the most significant effect on the underwater distribution of gravel. The larger the current velocity is, the larger the underwater distribution width of gravel after sinking to the bottom is, and the larger the loss rate of gravel which has not been thrown to the required range is. The construction work should be avoided under high current speed conditions when carrying out gravel dumping.