Abstract
The steady-state, incompressible and three-dimensional numerical analysis was performed to investigate the flow fields around the seabed tiller used for soil improvement in coastal fisheries and the pulling force and buoyancy generated by tiller operation. The turbulence model used in this study is a realizable $k-{\varepsilon}$. As a results, at a stationary current or a current speed of 1.2 knots, where rotor rotates in a clockwise direction, a typical vortex pair appears near the tip of the rotor except for the edge, and the strength of the vortex pair increases with the number of revolutions of the rotor. The pulling force of the tiller rotating in the counterclockwise direction increases with the number of revolutions. Also, when the current flows at 1.2 knots and the rotor rotates clockwise, the pulling force of the tiller acts on the upstream side irrespective of the number of rotations of the rotor, so that no force is applied. The buoyancy of the tiller acts on the seawater surface if the flow direction inside the rotor is the same as the direction of rotation of the rotor, regardless of the current velocity, otherwise it acts on the seabed.
