In low-lying areas such as New Orleans, any rain that falls in the city has to be pumped out. Improvements to flow conduits that result in head loss reductions of even a fraction of a foot add up to substantial savings in pumping costs. The city routinely replaces pile-supported bridges with free-span bridge decks raised above the canal water level. In the cases where the piles cannot be removed and the bridge deck cannot be raised, physical modeling is used to streamline and optimize the canal cross section to minimize head loss.
Physical constraints often make relatively simple tasks extremely difficult. Physical modeling serves as a valuable tool in optimizing the design and can be used to:
- Develop improvements to the geometry of canal junctions and bridge supports to minimize head loss
- Modify junction geometry to gradually turn lateral canal flows in the direction of the main canal flow before entering the main canal
Physical and CFD modeling can be combined to provide a comprehensive solution at minimum cost by:
- Identifying several different solutions using CFD and then
- Testing the most promising design in a physical model for detailed evaluation and fine tuning
