Turbulent flow interacting with flexible trawl net structure including simulation catch in flume tank

The interaction between fluid and the midwater trawl with stocked catches is extremely complex, but essential to improve the understanding of the drag force acting on the trawl, the behavior of the fishing structure during a trawling process, and to predict its selectivity process. The present study assesses the turbulent characteristics inside and around the midwater trawls with catch and without catch linked to its fluttering motion. The analysis is based on three-dimensional electromagnetic current velocity meter measurements performed in the multiple points inside and outside different parts of a 1/35 scaled midwater trawl model with the aim of access the main turbulent flow structure inside and around the gear. Time-averaged normalized flow velocity fields and turbulent flow parameters were analyzed from the measured flow data. Furthermore, Fourier analysis was conducted by watching the time–frequency Power spectrum content of instantaneous flow velocities fields, the fluttering trawl motions, turbulent kinetic energy, and momentum flux. Based on successive analyzes of mean flow characteristics and turbulent flow parameters, it has been demonstrated that the presence of catch inside the trawl net impacts the evolution of unsteady turbulent flow by creating large trawl fluttering motions that strongly affect the flow passage. The results showed that the time-averaged normalized streamwise and transverse flow velocities inside and around the trawl net with catch were 12.41% lower compared with that obtained inside and around the trawl without catch. The turbulent length scale and turbulent Reynolds number obtained in the different part of the trawl net with catch were about 33.05% greater than those obtained on the trawl net without catch, confirming that the unsteady turbulent flow developing inside and around the midwater trawl is influence by the catch and liner. It is observed that the motions of both the trawl without catch and the trawl with catch are mainly of a low-frequency activity and another component related to unsteady turbulent flow street. A complex fluid–structure interaction is then demonstrated where the fluttering motions of the trawl net affect the fluid flow inside and around trawl net, the fluid force, turbulent pattern, and simultaneously, the periodic unsteady turbulent flow influence the trawl motions.