Modelling the flow inside closed rearing aquaculture systems

Identifier:  TFM:549

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFM549

Authors:  López Biagi, José Ricardo

Abstract:
Aquaculture is a growing industry and so are the sizes of closed rearing units, where adequate fish swimming speeds are paramount. The hydrodynamics in closed tanks of up to 10 m in diameter have been documented, but there is little information on larger structures. The main purpose of this work has been the implementation and validation of a CFD (OpenFOAM) model to represent the hydrodynamics inside circular aquaculture tanks with a diameter of 1.5 m. Subsequently, the validated modelling procedure was applied to tanks with diameters ranging from 5 to 40 m. It was found that when using the realizable − RANS turbulence model, the most important flow characteristics – a forced and a bathtub vortex – are successfully modelled in tanks with a diameter of up to 10 m. Results suggest that in larger structures, higher turbulence levels result in the dissipation of the bathtub vortex.