An examination of flow characteristics of Little Sand Bay Harbor including velocity direction and relative magnitude, static pressure relative magnitude, and particle tracing using Fluent Computational Fluid Dynamics Software.

Motivation

I had the opportunity to go on a class field trip to Lake Superior during the summer of 2008. Our research site was Little Sand Bay near Bayfield, WI.  I really enjoyed my time and had a little bit of modeling experience, so I thought it would be a great project to model the flow in Little Sand Bay Harbor.

Coastal Environment

Little Sand Bay is part of the Apostle Island National Lakeshore and is also part of a public campground.  Little Sand Bay has a nice sandy beach area and boat launch which provides great recreational opportunities.

The climate around the Little Sand Bay area is mild in the summer (temperatures generally in the 60's degree F), and very cold in the winter (temperatures generally in the 10's degree F).  The annual average precipitation is about 33 inches, and is evenly spread throughout the year.

One challenge Little Sand Bay is facing is sediment transport. Sediment accumulates near the harbor.