Numerical Simulation and Verification of Free-Surface Flow Through a Porous Medium
Omarova P. Neftissov A. Kazambayev I. Kirichenko L. Aubakirova A. Borsikbayeva A.
December 2025Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Water (Switzerland)
2025#17Issue 24
Managing hydraulic behaviour and water quality in semi-arid, transboundary rivers such as the Talas River in Kazakhstan requires reliable numerical tools for predicting free-surface flow through porous hydraulic structures. This study develops and verifies a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) framework for simulating free-surface water flow through porous media and demonstrates its applicability to a real river reach of the Talas in the Zhambyl region. The model combines the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method with the Darcy–Forchheimer formulation to represent porous resistance, while turbulence is described by the RNG k– (Formula presented.) model, and pressure–velocity coupling is handled by the PISO algorithm. Model verification is conducted against a classic dam-break experiment involving a rectangular porous barrier across a laboratory channel. The simulations successfully reproduce the main experimental observations, including rapid drawdown after gate opening, formation and attenuation of the free-surface wave, localized depression above the porous insert, and the subsequent approach to a quasi-steady state. Time histories of water levels at control points and the spatial progression of the wet front show close agreement with measurements. Using the validated setup, a site-specific two-dimensional domain for the Talas River is constructed to analyse the hydraulic influence of a porous bar. The model quantifies velocity redistribution and energy dissipation across the porous patch and provides physically consistent flow fields suitable for engineering assessments under various discharge conditions.
dam break , free surface , numerical simulation , PISO , porous media , Talas river
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Scientific-Innovation Center Industry 4.0, Astana IT University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
School of Applied Mathematics, Kazakh-British Technical University, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan
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