Author(s): Seyed Ali Mahdizadeh; Kerry Anne Mazurek; Hayden Reitenbach; David Sumner

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Low-head dams; Weirs; Public safety; Drowning; Vanes; Physical scale modelling; Human body; Hydraulic structures

Abstract: Low-head dams and weirs often form submerged hydraulic jumps downstream, resulting in numerous fatalities due to the entrapment of persons within the jumps. Developing mitigative measures is a key priority for improving public safety at these structures. An array of parallel angled vanes placed on the channel bed has been tested as a potential retrofit. The vanes eliminated the submerged hydraulic jump and redirected the flow to carry a person toward the channel bank or downstream. This study was carried out to assess how a human body might interact with the vanes as it is moved by the flow. The experiments used 3D-printed scale models of Canadian adult male bodies, designed to replicate the human body mass distribution and joint mobility. Three test bodies of identical dimensions but varying densities, with specific gravities of 0.976,1. 018, and 1.052, were developed. Tests involved an array of three rectangular plates angled at 20˚ to the flow and placed on the downstream channel bed below a sharp-crested weir. The tests were conducted under varying flow rates and tailwater depths. For each flow condition and two insertion locations of the test body into the flow, ten trials were conducted to examine the repeatability of observing a particular body-vane interaction. Observations showed that the results were not repeatable, likely due to the variability in limb movement within the turbulent flow. Similarly, body density strongly influenced interactions, with denser bodies engaging with the vanes less frequently and exhibiting different interaction patterns.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64697/978-90-835589-7-4_41WC-P2105-cd

Year: 2025