The characteristics of water and sediment movement in the confluence area of pipeline

This paper investigates the shape and hydrodynamic characteristics of the sand bed at the junction of urban pipelines and their relationship with the flow ratio. Various hydrodynamic and morphological features, including shear layers, spiral cells, and scour pits. The dataset used for analysis consists of a three-dimensional time-averaged velocity field, turbulence, bed morphology, and confluence morphology of equilibrium phases obtained under controlled laboratory conditions. For large flow ratios (q*), significant local erosion occurs near the downstream shear plane at the junction. When the flow of tributaries surpasses that of the main stream, the strength and downstream extension of the spiral cell blocks increase. The max Reynolds number shear stress predominantly concentrates in the middle region of the water depth, aligning with the turbulent kinetic energy representation of the shear layer. Keeping the flow ratio constant, the velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, and absolute Reynolds shear stress all escalate with increased flow.