Author(s): Ines Meireles; Fabian A. Bombardelli; Jorge Matos

Linked Author(s): Inês Meireles, Fabian Bombardelli, Jorge Matos

Keywords: No Keywords

Abstract: In general, recent research on the hydraulics of stepped spillways has been undertaken with the use of physical models, and has focused on the region downstream of the inception point of air entrainment. However, in steeply sloping stepped spillways with large unit discharges, the non-aerated region can dominate a large portion of the spillway. With recent advances in computer software and hardware technology, new opportunities appear to make use of numerical methods to study the non-aerated and aerated regions of the flow in stepped spillways. This paper presents results of the first stages of a research program intended to characterize the flow in stepped spillways, and focuses on the non-aerated region of the flow. Experimental data was acquired in a large physical model assembled at the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal. Additionally, well-resolved numerical simulations were performed at UC Davis, USA, and Portugal with a commercial code, FLOW-3D®, to reproduce the experimental conditions. The numerical results compare well with measured data, indicating that numerical models can be used in order to improve our understanding of the flow in stepped spillways, and to help in their design.

DOI:

Year: 2009