Numerical simulation of the energy dissipation characteristics in stilling basin of multi-horizontal submerged jets

3-D numerical simulation was carried out for the water flow in a stilling basin with multi-horizontal submerged jets by using two different turbulence models, namely, the VOF RNG k - ɛ and Mixture RNG k - ɛ turbulence models. The calculated water depth, velocity profile and pressure distribution are in good agreement with the data obtained in experiments. It indicates that the numerical simulation can effectively be used to study the water flow movement and the energy dissipation mechanism. The numerical simulation results show that the turbulent kinetic energy distribution obtained by using the Mixture turbulence model covers a region about 18% larger than that calculated by using the VOF turbulence model, and is in better agreement with the actual situation. Furthermore, the Mixture turbulence model is better than the VOF turbulence model in calculating the air entrainment.