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International Journal of Renewable, Green, and Sustainable Energy

Open Access Peer Review International
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Comparative Hydrodynamic Analysis of Raceway Pond Systems Using k-Ο‰ and Large Eddy Simulation Turbulence Models

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Dr. Hiroshi Tanaka 1 , Prof. Yuki Nakamura 1 ,
4 Department of Robotics and Automation Engineering, Tokyo Advanced Institute of Technology Japan
4 Department of Electrical Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Engineering Sciences Japan

Abstract

Hydrodynamic behavior in raceway pond systems plays a decisive role in determining mass transfer efficiency, nutrient distribution, and biomass productivity in microalgae cultivation. This study presents a comparative computational investigation of turbulence modeling approaches, specifically the k-Ο‰ Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) model and Large Eddy Simulation (LES), for evaluating flow dynamics in raceway ponds. The research integrates theoretical turbulence modeling principles with applied computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to examine velocity distribution, mixing characteristics, and energy dissipation patterns. Results demonstrate that while the k-Ο‰ model provides computational efficiency and reasonable prediction accuracy, LES captures transient flow structures and localized turbulence effects with higher fidelity. The study further analyzes how hydrodynamic variations influence system performance and identifies trade-offs between computational cost and predictive accuracy. The findings contribute to optimizing raceway pond design and operational strategies, offering insights into turbulence-driven improvements in algal cultivation systems.

Keywords

Raceway Pond, Hydrodynamics, k-Ο‰ turbulence model, Large Eddy Simulation

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