INVESTIGATION OF DESIGN PARAMETERS AFFECTING WIND-DRIVEN CIRCULATION IN ARTIFICIAL LAKES

Abstract

Artificial lakes’ parameters are typically determined by urban planners without consideration for circulation. This research was developed to examine design parameters of artificial lakes in order to give design guidelines for artificial lake designers. Field measurements of bathymetry, flow velocities, and drifter tracks were collected from a case study in a residential compound (Lake Dream) and the data were analyzed and processed using MATLAB. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic numerical model was developed using Delft3D. The field data were used to calibrate the model and to demonstrate the considerable effect of sheltering. An idealized basin was developed to simplify the geometry and study the effect of different design parameters with and without wind sheltering effect. By studying different scenarios, it was concluded that, to enhance the horizontal circulation in artificial lakes, the maximum bed slope should be oriented perpendicular to the dominant wind direction with and without considering wind sheltering effect, the aspect ratio effect depends on bed slope, lake orientation and wind sheltering.