Model Test of Immersed Tunnel Element In Towing Tank In Winds, Waves And Currents

In order to study the behavior of tube tunnel element during its lowering to the sea bed, a hydrodynamic scale model test was carried under different winds, waves and currents. In this paper, we mainly emphasize the technique of the model test carried out in the towing tank under of the wind, wave and current conditions. Compared with the typical test in the ocean engineering basin, its features are with higher speed and larger model scale in the towing tank. Some experimental results are represented for problems involving the hydrodynamic behavior of the immersed tube element, by artificially assuming base trench bottom. This helps to provide information in constructing the tunnel of Hong Kong-ZhuHai-Macao Bridge. Additionally, we simulate numerically the tube tunnel element with identical physical conditions in experiments, by our design of the sharp interface two-phase solver. By comparison, the computational results agree with the measurements. It is demonstrated that our method can provide a valuable base for model testing in the towing tank in winds, waves and currents.