Contraction Section Design for inlet in Open Channel Facilities: A Case Study at Polytechnic University of Turin's Fluid Mechanics Laboratory = Contraction Section Design for the Inlet in Open Channel Facilities: A Case Study at the Polytechnic University of Turin's Fluid Mechanics Laboratory.

This thesis investigates the inlet design for a new open channel facility in the fluid mechanics laboratory of the Polytechnic University of Turin. In the laboratory, we currently have an outdated channel that must be upgraded. This study focuses on the implementation of a contraction section in the upstream to improve the water flow properties in the test section. The study analyzes and numerically simulates flow parameters using ANSYS FLUENT, including uniformity, turbulence intensity and boundary layer separation along the contraction. The design, which was constrained by the laboratory's maximum channel accessible size of around 4.4 meters wide and a maximum flow rate of 300 litters per second, was created with Solid Works software. The contraction intake and outlet are rectangular, with a free surface resembling a half-wind tunnel. The existing research suggests polynomials of orders (3rd, 5th, and 7th) for contraction curves. In this work, a unique analysis is performed for the 3rd order shaped profile for lateral and vertical contraction with a contraction ratio of 8 and an L/D ratio of 0.89, which will then be connected to the test section, the study of which is outside the scope of this work. The outcome demonstrated that the recommended contraction design, a 3rd-order wall profile with a length of 1.8 m, is one of the ideal approaches to providing a consistent flow in the outlet without flow separation in both laminar and turbulent flow. It is crucial to keep in mind that not all tunnel types subject themselves to the same ideal design. A number of profiles are re-examined for similar tunnels under various operating circumstances.