Numerical model for flow through submerged vegetation regions in a shallow lake

Aquatic vegetation has a significant impact on water currents. To evaluate the effects of changes in the aquatic vegetation on water currents of different velocity, a 3-D hydrodynamic model was then developed by taking into consideration of the additional hydraulic resistance of the aquatic plants. The Navier-Stokes equations were then solved using the SIMPLE method and the turbulence model. Calculations using the established models were used to forecast the vertical distribution of the horizontal velocity and horizontal flow under the transmission conditions of the South-North Water Diversion in the Nansi Lake. And comparative calculation for the flow velocity was also performed using the simplified method of assigning a high roughness coefficient to the lake bed in the same area. Results suggest that adding additional hydraulic resistance of the aquatic plants is feasible. The calculation errors between simulation result and the field observed data are smaller than 15%, while, those errors are up to 35% if the influence of aquatic vegetation is dealt with the simplified method.