Analytical study of Haditha reservoir sedimentation by CFD model

Abstract EN

The Haditha reservoir in Iraq was selected as case study to be used in the numerical models, because it possesses the two relevant types of reservoir sedimentation processes (delta formation and density current).

It represents a case where the reservoir storage capacity losses are substantial.

In order to reduce capacity losses.

The delta formation was simulated for fixed and fluctuating water level in the reservoir, including the simulation of the formation of channels in the delta.

The model was a previous run for simulating delta formation, and by subsequently applying the gradual water drawdown procedure used in the Haditha reservoir, the actual removing process of the accumulated sediment was simulated.

In this study the different processes and phenomena related to reservoir sedimentation were simulated in successful way for a real and a schematized reservoir, whereas also flushing as mitigation measure was fairly well simulated when compared with the practice in Haditha reservoir.

However more studies and a proper calibration and verification are needed to predict the sedimentation processes more accurately before using the model for design purposes.