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IC-MSQUARE-2023 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2701 (2024) 012081 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2701/1/012081

Effects of Reynolds number and blockage ratio on the

turbulence characteristics of open channel flow
passing through trash rack
Gangadhar Kokkiligadda1 , Anirban Dhar2 , Prashanth Reddy Hanmaiahgari2
1 Ph.D. Research Scholar, Civil Engineering Department, IIT KharagpurKharagpur, India - 721302;
2 Professor, Civil Engineering Department, IIT KharagpurKharagpur, India - 721302;
2 Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department, IIT KharagpurKharagpur, India - 721302;

E-mail: gangadhar.kcivil@gmail.com, anirban@civil.iitkgp.ac.in,

hpr@civil.iitkgp.ac.in.

Abstract. Trash racks are extensively used to prevent debris from being transported to down-
stream reaches of waterways. However, debris accumulation at the screens can significantly affect
their hydraulic performance, resulting in negative economic and environmental consequences.
Basic research related to the mechanism of these physical processes is still rather limited. In
this experimental study, the flow fields, including the turbulence intensities, Reynolds stresses,
and turbulent kinetic energy near a trash rack in a fixed-bed open channel for subcritical flow
conditions are investigated for two Reynolds numbers and two blockage ratios. The experimen-
tal study investigates the important physical mechanisms relating to turbulence generation and
possible sediment deposition induced by the vertical trash rack. Reynolds number effect on time
mean streamwise velocity is predominant in the trash rack’s downstream free surface layer as a
higher Reynolds number flow has higher normalized streamwise velocity in the free surface layer
and lower in the inner layer. In both the Reynolds number effect case and the blockage ratio
effect case peak normalized turbulent kinetic energy was observed immediately downstream of
the trash rack and with the increment of longitudinal distance downstream of the trash rack,
normalized Turbulent kinetic energy is decreased.

Keywords: Open channel flow, Vertical trash rack, blockage ratio, Reynolds number,
Turbulence.

1. Introduction
Accumulation of debris within the intakes of hydraulic structures and watercourses poses a
substantial issue of concern. Such accumulation often leads to suboptimal performance and
has detrimental effects on the operation of the structure. Specifically, debris can amass and
obstruct water passage through openings in bridges or culverts, leading to upstream flooding,
increased local erosion, and potential structural damage [1, 2]. Hydropower intakes, navigation
facilities, and flood control works are affected as a result of debris buildup[3]. Various researchers
e.g.[4, 5, 6] have documented potential consequences linked to the buildup of debris, illustrating
its potential impacts. Hence, it is imperative to consider debris management in the design of
hydraulic structures, and It must be established how to deal with this debris.

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IC-MSQUARE-2023 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2701 (2024) 012081 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2701/1/012081

Trash screens are commonly employed methods for managing debris in conveyance systems.
Screens, composed of metallic bars, are installed at the entrance of various hydraulic structures
like units, pumping stations, culverts, water intakes, irrigation canals, and other hydraulic
structures. Their purpose is to prevent debris from entering and causing potential harm or
operational complications. They are also placed to promote safe fish mobility and, as a result,
to prevent species of fish from accessing the structure. A serious hazard develops when the
blockage forms at a location that makes it difficult to remove the blockage[7].To ensure extended-
term upkeep, it is recommended to use trash screens to safeguard the culvert’s entrance against
debris and sediment. Furthermore, one of the major characteristics that should be thoroughly
examined in trash screen design is hydraulic head loss [8, 9, 10] due to the potential danger of
encountering significant issues as the head loss in the screen rises. Because intake circumstances
may greatly impact both hydraulic performance and cost, the inclusion of the inlet screen design
is a vital element within the overall structural design.
Open channel flows exhibit a free surface along with a near-bed flow characterized by a
boundary layer-type behavior. These flows encompass intricate three-dimensional turbulent
structures that impact the flow dynamics. Nonetheless, the majority of open channel flows
exhibit non-uniform characteristics due to continually shifting boundary conditions resulting
from alterations in flow rate, cross-sectional shape, bed roughness, and the presence of hydraulic
structures, etc. When the boundary condition changes due to an imbalance of viscous,
gravitational, and inertial forces, the flow becomes disrupted. Subsequently, the flow endeavors
to attain a state of fully developed flow in the downstream direction. The developing turbulent
flow in an open channel is an intricate three-dimensional phenomenon, regulated by factors such
as the Reynolds number and blockage ratio. In order to evaluate the interaction between fluid
and sediment, as well as sediment erosion in open channel flows, it is essential to understand
the flow characteristics around any obstacles. These characteristics are closely linked to the
hydrodynamic features, including the vertical distribution of time-averaged velocities, turbulence
intensities, Reynolds stresses, and turbulent kinetic energy.
Although numerous researchers have examined the impact of Reynolds number and blockage
ratio on head loss properties in open channel flow [10, 11, 12, 13], the turbulence characteristics
in the vicinity of trash racks in open channel flow have not yet been comprehensively explored.
Hence, in order to fill this research gap, the present investigation aims to examine how the
Reynolds number and blockage ratio influence turbulence attributes in the flow over vertical
trash screens.

2. Experimental Methodology
2.1. Experimental Setup
The experiments are carried out using a vertical trash screen model within a glass-walled
rectangular flume with fixed sand bed conditions. The flume measured 10 m in length, 0.6 m in
width, and 0.65 m in depth, and was set up at the Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering
Laboratory located at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India. The channel bed
was inclined at a constant longitudinal slope of 0.3% along the entire length of the flume. The
illustrative representation of the experimental arrangement is presented in Fig. 1. The incoming
flow rate was regulated using a valve and quantified with a flow meter. The water depth within
the flume was altered by adjusting the tailgate position located at the downstream extremity of
the flume. Water depths are measured to the closest 1 mm using a movable point gauge.

A 3D Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry (3D ADV) apparatus was employed for measuring
instantaneous flow velocities. In contrast to a three-receiver probe, the Vectrino Plus, a down-
looking ADV probe with four receivers manufactured by Nortek, notably reduced the noise
signal in the measurements. Utilizing a 10 MHz acoustic frequency, it captured instantaneous

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IC-MSQUARE-2023 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2701 (2024) 012081 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2701/1/012081

Figure 1. Flume’s definition sketch with vertical screen

3D flow velocities at a sampling rate of 100 Hz. Data acquisition was not feasible near to free
water surface due to the measurement point being situated 5 cm below the probe.
During data collection, it was ensured that the sampling volume did not come into contact
with the flume bed. In order to establish statistical time-independence of time-averaged
velocities, the sampling duration was fixed at 300 s. During the experiments, the signal-to-
noise (SNR) ratio and correlation coefficient with the lowest values were retained as 20 and
74, respectively. The signal recorded by the Vectrino Plus in the proximity of the bed flow
area encompasses spikes attributed to the interplay between an incident and reflected pulses.
Consequently, the raw data underwent filtration utilizing a spike removal technique known as
the phase-space threshold method, which was developed by Goring and Nikora [14]. The specific
details regarding the experimental conditions were outlined in Table 1.
The channel bed is built of smooth-finished concrete and coated with uniform sand particles of
median diameter d50 = 2 mm to make it rough. The geometric mean size of the sand, calculated
as the square root of the product of d84.1 and d15.9 , is 1.95,
p while the geometric standard deviation
(σg ) was assessed to be 1.24 using the formula σg = d84.1 /d15.9 . The gradation coefficient
G = 21 (d84.1 /d50 +d50 /d15.9 ) for the sand sample was 1.24 which falls below 1.4. This implies that
the sand exhibits a uniform particle size distribution. In this context,d84.1 and d15.9 represent
the sizes of sediment particles where 84.1% and 15.9% of the mixture, respectively, consist of
finer particles.

Figure 2. Plan view for ADV measurement locations upstream and downstream of vertical
screen

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IC-MSQUARE-2023 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2701 (2024) 012081 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2701/1/012081

Table 1. The hydraulic and physical characteristics of all conducted experiments.

Average Free stream Shear
Blockage Depth of Reynolds Froude
Exp. Flowrate Velocity Velocity Velocity 4 ) number
Ratio (Br) flow(m) Number (×10
run (m3 /s) (m/s) (m/s) (m/s)
% h Re Fr
u u∞ u
Run1 0.04 65 0.197 0.34 0.37 0.0235 6.67 0.24
Run2 0.08 65 0.244 0.55 0.56 0.0303 13.33 0.35
Run3 0.08 25 0.244 0.55 0.56 0.0303 13.33 0.35

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Streamwise velocity
Fig. 3 demonstrates the influence of Reynolds number and blockage ratio on the vertical profiles
of time-averaged streamwise velocities (u/u∞ ) along the central axes at both upstream and
downstream positions of the trash rack. The turbulent flow characteristics are scaled using the
free stream velocity (u∞ ), while the vertical coordinate is scaled based on the flow depth(Z).
Experiments Run1 and Run2 are exclusively focused on investigating the impact of Reynolds
number on turbulence characteristics, while experiments Run2 and Run3 are employed to
examine the effect of blockage ratio (Table 1). Measurements are taken at positions x=5.7 m,
5.9 m, 6.1 m, and 6.5 m. The velocity measurement at x=5.7 m pertains to an upstream region
of the trash rack, while velocity profiles at x=5.9 m, 6.1 m, and x=6.5 m are in the downstream
region. The graphs in the upper row of Fig. 3 are intended to assess the influence of the Reynolds
number, while those in the lower row aim to evaluate the impact of the blockage ratio. Nezu
and Nakagawa[15] distinguished the flow layers by examining the Turbulent Kinetic Energy
(TKE) budget. Nezu and Nakagawa contended that the transfer of turbulent kinetic energy
(TKE) in open-channel flow is compared to this cascade process through the spectral subranges.
Based on this comparison, the turbulent flow in the open channel can be categorized into three
distinct layers. These layers are characterized as 1) Inner layer (z < 0.2h), 2) Intermediate layer
(0.2h ≤ z ≤ 0.6h), and 3) Free surface layer (0.6h < z ≤ 1h)
Due to the overlapping velocity distribution, the impact of the Reynolds number is less
pronounced in z≤ 0.5h in the upstream area. Nevertheless, in the downstream section, the
influence of the Reynolds number is observed across the entire flow depth, except at the 6.5 m
location in the region z≤0.15h. In both the upstream and downstream regions, the effect of the
Reynolds number is substantial within the free surface layer (z > 0.6h). At the downstream
position, with the rise in Reynolds number, the percentage rise in maximum velocity is smaller
compared to the percentage rise in time-averaged velocity near the free surface layer; Hence, in
downstream areas, the normalized time-averaged streamwise velocities (u/u∞ ) within the free
surface layer are greater for flows with higher Reynolds numbers compared to those with lower
Reynolds numbers. Conversely, in upstream locations, this trend is reversed. Therefore, the
primary influence of the Reynolds number is observed in the free surface layer downstream of
the trash rack. A flow with a higher Reynolds number exhibits a higher normalized streamwise
velocity in the free surface layer and a lower velocity in the inner layer. Within the free surface
layer, we can discern the presence of secondary current effects by observing the reversal of its
magnitude in the downstream area. In the second row of Fig. 3, the effect of blockage ratio
on time-averaged streamwise velocity is evident in the intermediate and free surface layers, but
its influence diminishes in the inner layer. In the downstream region, a collapse of data is
found, which shows time mean velocities for different blockage ratio flows are self-similar at far
downstream locations.

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IC-MSQUARE-2023 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2701 (2024) 012081 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2701/1/012081

Figure 3. Effect of Re and Br on the vertical profiles of normalized time-averaged streamwise

velocity(u/u∞ ) along the central axes at both upstream and downstream of the trash rack.

3.2. Turbulence Intensities

Fig. 4 depicts the vertical distributions of normalized turbulence intensity in the streamwise
direction, denoted as σu /u∞ . An increasing Reynolds number amplifies the intensity of small-
scale movements, namely, turbulence intensities[16]. Reynolds number effect on normalized
streamwise turbulence intensity (σu /u∞ ) is seen in inner and intermediate layers, that is σu /u∞
of flow with low Reynolds number is higher than the high Reynolds number flow in an upstream
location of trash rack for given blockage ratio. Whereas in the downstream location x=6.1m
high Reynolds number flow has a high magnitude in the region z < 0.4h and at the location,
x= 6.5m diminishes throughout the depth. The lower row of Fig. 4 illustrates the influence
of the blockage ratio on the normalized turbulence intensity in the streamwise direction. The
effect of the blockage ratio on σu /u∞ is observed in both the inner and intermediate layers,
i.e., σu /u∞ of flow with low blockage ratio surpasses that of the high blockage ratio flow in
the upstream location of trash rack. The effect of the blockage ratio is evident in turbulence
intensities along the streamwise direction, particularly pronounced in the free surface layer at
downstream positions.

3.3. Reynolds Stresses

3.3.1. Reynolds Normal Stresses: The Reynolds normal stresses (RNSs) quantify the strength
of turbulence and provide insight into the fluctuating velocity components. The RNSs are
influenced by various factors such as velocity, roughness size, roughness orientation, etc.
Streamwise Reynolds normal stresses denoted as σuu . They are normalized using the free stream
velocity of the approaching flow, denoted as u2∞ . Fig. 5 depicts the effect of Reynolds number
and blockage ratio on the vertical distribution of normalized streamwise (σuu /u2∞ ) Reynolds
normal stresses (RNSs) in upstream and downstream of the trash rack. In this Fig. 5 top
row demonstrates that for a given blockage ratio with increasing in Reynolds number σuu /u2∞
notices higher magnitude in upstream whereas in far downstream of the trash screen this

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IC-MSQUARE-2023 IOP Publishing
Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2701 (2024) 012081 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2701/1/012081

Figure 4. Effect of Re and Br on the vertical profiles of normalized streamwise turbulence

intensity(σu /u∞ ) along the central axes at both upstream and downstream of the trash rack.

effect is diminished (x=6.5m). Bottom row in Fig. 5 shows variation of σuu /u2∞ for given
Reynolds number. With the increasing blockage ratio σuu /u2∞ shows a higher magnitude in the
downstream.

Figure 5. Effect of Re and Br on the vertical profiles of normalized streamwise Reynold normal
stress(σuu /u2∞ ) along the central axes at both upstream and downstream of the trash rack.

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Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2701 (2024) 012081 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2701/1/012081

3.3.2. Reynolds Shear Stresses: The Reynolds shear stresses (RSSs) are second-order moments,
This establishes correlations between various fluctuating velocity components. Reynolds shear
stresses impede flow in the respective plane and dictate secondary flows as well as flow
development. Fig. 6 illustrates how the vertical distribution of normalized Reynolds shear stress
(τuw /u2∞ ) is influenced by changes in Reynolds number and blockage ratio, both upstream and
downstream of the trash rack. In Fig. 6 top row peak value is noticed in the inner layer (z < 0.2h)
and decreases with increasing depth. In the upstream region lower Reynolds number flow has
a higher magnitude up to the intermediate layer and collapses in a single curve, whereas in the
downstream it shows a negative magnitude in the free surface layer demonstrating secondary
currents. In Fig. 6 bottom row for given Reynolds number with increasing in blockage ratio
shows lower magnitude τuw /u2∞ in the upstream region and collapses in the single curve in the
free surface layer. In downstream lower blockage ratio (Br=25%) is invariant with the streamwise
direction whereas blockage ratio Br=65% has a positive peak in the inner layer and negative
magnitudes in the free surface layer. This demonstrates higher blockage ratio develops secondary
currents downstream of the trash rack.

Figure 6. Effect of Re and Br on the vertical profiles of normalized Reynold shear

stress(τuw /u2∞ ) along the central axes at both upstream and downstream of the trash rack.

3.4. Turbulent Kinetic Energy

Turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) is a vital parameter in quantifying turbulence. Therefore,
TKE profiles were examined to evaluate the impacts of Reynolds numbers and blockage ratios,
as depicted in Fig. 7. A significantly elevated level of normalized turbulent kinetic energy,
expressed as k/u2∞ is observed in the close vicinity downstream of the trash rack, particularly
where the wake effect is most pronounced. Further downstream higher normalized TKE was
noticed near the bed as well as towards the free surface for a high blockage ratio for both

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Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2701 (2024) 012081 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2701/1/012081

Reynolds number flows. In both the Reynolds number effect case and the blockage ratio effect
case peak normalized TKE was observed immediate downstream of the trash rack and with the
increment of longitudinal distance downstream of the trash rack, normalized TKE magnitudes
follow a decreasing trend.

Figure 7. Effect of Re and Br on the vertical profiles of normalized Turbulent kinetic

energy(k/u2∞ ) along the central axes at both upstream and downstream of the trash rack.

4. Conclusions
This study examined how turbulence characteristics in the upstream and downstream regions
of vertical trash screens are influenced by variations in Reynolds number and blockage ratio,
considering a fixed continuous rough bed. The study’s key findings are listed below.
• Reynolds number effect on time-averaged streamwise velocity is predominant in the
trash rack’s downstream free surface layer, With increased Reynolds numbers, the flow
demonstrates increased normalized streamwise velocity in the free surface layer while
registering a decrease in the inner layer.
• The effect of blockage ratio on the average streamwise velocity is noticeable in the
intermediate and free surface layers but diminishes in the inner layer.
• The effect of blockage ratio is noticed in both upstream and downstream for streamwise
turbulence intensity and this effect is severe in downstream’s free surface layer.
• With the increasing blockage ratio Streamwise Reynolds normal stress shows a higher
magnitude in the downstream.
• In the upstream region lower Reynolds number flow effect on Reynolds shear stresses has
a higher magnitude up to the intermediate layer and collapses in a single curve, whereas
in the downstream it shows a negative magnitude in the free surface layer demonstrating
secondary currents.

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Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2701 (2024) 012081 doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2701/1/012081

• In the downstream region lower blockage ratio flow(Br=25%) for Reynolds shear stresses
is invariant with the streamwise direction whereas higher blockage ratio flow(Br=65%) has
a positive peak in the inner layer and negative magnitudes in the free surface layer. This
demonstrates higher blockage ratio develops secondary currents downstream of trash rack.
• For both the Reynolds number and blockage ratio scenarios, the peak observed normalized
Turbulent Kinetic Energy(TKE) occurred immediately downstream of the trash rack, and
with the increment of longitudinal distance downstream of the trash rack, it follows a
decreasing trend.

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