Numerical simulation of inlet placement on sewage characteristics in the rounded square aquaculture tank with single inlet

To improve the self-cleaning ability of aquaculture tank and the efficiency of circulating water, physical and numerical experiments were conducted on the influence of inlet structure on sewage discharge in a rounded square aquaculture tank with a single inlet. Based on the physical model of the tank, analysis of how inlet structure adjustment affects sewage discharge efficiency and flow field characteristics was conducted to provide suitable flow field conditions for sinkable solid particle discharge. In addition, an internal flow field simulation was conducted using the RNG k - ε turbulence model in hydraulic drive mode. Then a solid-fluid multiphase model was created to investigate how the inlet structure affects sewage collection in the rounded square aquaculture tank with single inlet and outlet. The finding revealed that the impact of inlet structure is considerably affecting sewage collection. The conditions of C / B =0.07–0.11 (the ratio of horizontal distance between the center of the inlet pipe and the tank wall ( C ) to length of the tank ( B )) and α =25° ( α is the angle between the direction of the jet and the tangential direction of the arc angle) resulted in optimal sewage collection, which is similar to the flow field experiment in the rounded square aquaculture tank with single inlet and outlet. An excellent correlation was revealed between sewage collection and fluid circulation stability in the aquaculture tank. The present study provided a reference for design and optimization of circulating aquaculture tanks in aquaculture industry.