Modelling of vertical drop shaft with modelling

Çakan F. Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Civil Engineer Program, Master Thesis, Aydın, 2021. Objective: In this study, numerical modelling of the drop shaft without ventilation holes was considered and velocity values were examined comparing with Zhang et al. (2018)'s results. Material and Methods: Two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) numerical models were made using ANSYS FLUENT software. Comparisons are made with the RNG k - ε turbulence model. Volume of Fluid (VOF) turbulence model was considered because of air - water two-phase flow condition. Results: In this study, two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) steady simulations were performed. According to the obtained results, it is found that the RNG k - ε turbulence model and VOF model are applicable in simulating of flow in drop shaft structures. The obtained velocity results were compared with the experimental results taken by literature. As a result, it is obtained that 3D mesh is more successful to be able to simulate the flow structure. Conclusion: In this study, it was obtained that the RNG k - ε turbulence model was successful to simulate the flow in drop shaft structures. Moreover, the VOF model was chosen in the analysis of the flow in drop shafts. According to the results, Volume of Fluid (VOF) turbulence model was achieved to model the flow area in drop shaft structures. Keywords: Dropshaft, FLUENT, k - ε turbulence model, VOF