Sensitivity study of modelling of Severn Barrage performance

Ahmadian, Reza ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2665-4734, Falconer, Roger Alexander ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5960-2864 and Bray, Samuel 2015. Sensitivity study of modelling of Severn Barrage performance. Presented at: 1st International Conference on Renewable Energies Offshore, Lisbon, Portugal, 24-26 November 2014. Published in: Soares, Guedes ed. Renewable Energies Offshore: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Renewable Energies Offshore, Lisbon, Portugal, 24-26 November 2014. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, pp. 147-152.

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Abstract

This study investigates the sensitivity of the prediction of hydrodynamic impacts and power output of an ebb-only generating Severn Barrage to changes in the coefficient of discharge (C d), a key parameter in calculating the discharge through an orifice. Domain decomposition technique was used to model the Severn Barrage within the numerical model EFDC, with discharge exchanged between the domains calculated using an industry hill-chart for the turbines, and the orifice equation for the sluice gates. Varying values for C d are suggested in the literature, and since the instantaneous discharge through an orifice is directly proportional to the C d , it could potentially have a significant impact on simulating the barrage and its performance. However, due to discharge also being related to the head-difference across the structure, it is predicted that a change in the coefficient will cause a proportionally smaller change in the discharge across the structure. Different C d values were used to see the impact on water levels and power generation. It was found that while a discharge coefficient for a hydraulic structure can be difficult to accurately establish, these errors are not very significant in the performance of the barrage and any errors in the assumed value are mitigated through the continual, rather than instantaneous, filling or emptying process.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item - published (Paper)
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Engineering Research Institutes & Centres > Water Research Institute (WATER)
Subjects:	T Technology > TC Hydraulic engineering. Ocean engineering
Publisher:	CRC Press
ISBN:	978-1138028715
Last Modified:	25 Aug 2026 09:37
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/87430

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