Increased Spillway Elevation

According to Leutheusser many overflow structures are inadvertently constructed very

low to produce a hydraulic jump that dissipates the increased kinetic energy of the flow.
Although the operational requirements of the low head dams were satisfied, he claimed
that engineers failed to notice that the very low overflow structures did not allow the flow
to go through the optimal, free hydraulic jump. The faulty hydraulic condition, therefore,
posed great danger. His suggestion for eliminating these dangerous rollers was to simply
elevate the height of the structure (Leutheusser 1991). He claimed that using the
combination of tailwater depth and the rate of flow at the downstream end of the roller
can determine the required height of the overflow structure for the proper jump.
However, Leutheusser, did realize that the required height in most cases would be so
great that this design option would become impractical.

Baffled Chutes
Leutheusser suggested an alternative retrofit, which would eliminate the hydraulic of
overflow structures completely. See Figure 1. He claimed that the baffled chute
spillways feature continuous energy dissipation by cascade action (Leutheusser 1991).
Hotchkiss and Comstock (1992) did an experiment involving baffle chutes described by
Leutheusser and they found the claim to be flawed. The authors argued that the baffled
chutes although did dissipate energy by creating turbulence, they presented a new safety
hazard for boaters while navigating trough the baffles. The float used in their experiment
often got trapped among the baffle chutes. Furthermore, the collected floating and

suspended debris may result to the overtopping of the basin and damaging the baffle
blocks (Anonymus). This occurrence would require regular cleaning of the blocks.

Figure 1. Baffled Chute Basin. (Dam Safety 1999)

Labyrinth Weir
Hauser et. al. (1991) proposed an alternative design, called labyrinth weir, for
hydropower dams. The new structure increases minimum flow between generating
periods and elevates the tailwater dissolved oxygen. Hauser claims that high discharge
per unit width may develop rollers. He pointed out that by enlarging the crest length of
the labyrinth weir the discharge per unit width would reduce. This effect would,
therefore, limit the chance of any roller formation. In his conclusion, Hauser lists a few
disadvantages of this design. Among them were the difficulty of increasing the crest
length and the non-navigable feature of the labyrinth.

Figure 2. Labyrinth Weir. (Physical Hydraulic 2005)

Stepped Spillways
Stepped Spillways are used as energy dissipaters for low overflow structures. See Figure
3. The flow over the steps can be categorized as nappe flow or skimming flow. In the
nappe flow, water hits each step as a falling jet, with the energy dissipation occurring by
jet breakup in air, jet mixing on the step, with or without the formation of a partial
hydraulic jump on the step (Rajaratnam 1990). In the skimming flow, the flow from
each step travels as a consistent stream, skimming over each step by creating
recirculating vortices. The momentum transfer to these vortices enhances the energy
dissipation over the structure. Christodoulou (1992) conducted experiments to validate
Rajaratnams estimates on the energy loss over stepped spillways. Christodoulou
determined that the amount of energy lost is mainly governed by the ratio of the critical
depth of the water flow passing over the spillway to the step height (yc/h), and the number
of steps N. He also found that greater number of steps and decreasing values of yc/h result

in increased energy dissipation over the spillway. With further focused experimentation
Chamani and Rajaratnam (1994) were able to present a method to estimate that energy
loss within the nappe region flow and find a relationship for the variation of energy loss
at each step. To retrofit a low head dam, Freeman and Garcia (1996) constructed a fourand a six-step spillway. They concluded that even though the six-step spillway
performed better, the four-step arrangement is more cost effective and feasible solution.

Figure 3. Four-step spillway. (Freeman 1996)

Rock Arch Dam Conversion

There is ongoing investigation on the effectiveness of a new retrofit for low-head dams,
called rock arch rapids. Dr. Luther Aadland, who designed the retrofit, is currently taking
data at multiple locations where the design was implemented. The retrofit design uses a
collection of 3 different sized field stones, which are placed as seen on Figure 4. The
downstream end of the rock arch rapids curves and then becomes flat as it approaches the
dam crest. The slope of the rapid is approximately 5%, which allows fish to swim
upstream. The slope of the weirs varies to match the grade. Weirs are integrated into the
bank and gaps between the large boulders near the bank are filled with smaller stones to
reduce leakage and create pools (Aadland 2005). The weirs add stability to the rapids
and direct flow down toward the mid-channel: consequently, the flow velocity and stress

on the river banks reduces. Aadland claims that the retrofit completely eliminates the
hydraulic and provides a pathway for migrating fish. The varying sized stones are
necessary since each size serves a specific purpose. The size of the field stones or
boulders range between 3 to 6 feet in diameter. They are set 1 foot above the grade and
are spaced according to the slope for maximum 1 foot head loss per weir (Aadland 2005).
The size of the smaller field stones change from 1 foot to 3 feet depending on the shear
stress exerted on the rocks due to the varying flow rates. Finally, cobble is used for
filling void near the crest. The size of a cobble can be between 1 to 6 inches in diameter.
Because this design is not yet fully examined, only one of its likely disadvantages, its
permanence was expressed.

30o ANGLE OF WIER TO BANK

5% slope
or lower

DAM CREST

FLOW

PE
SLO

Figure 4. Rock Arch Dam Conversion (Aadland 2005).

References
Chamani, M.R. and Rajaratnam, N. (1994), Jet Flow on Stepped Spillways, Journal of
Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 120, No. 2, pp 245-259.
Christodoulou, G. C. (1993), Energy Dissapation on Stepped Spillways, Journal of
Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 119, No. 5, pp 644-650.
Leutheusser, H. J. and Birk, W.M (1991), Downproofing of Low Overflow Structures,
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 117, No. 2, pp 205-213.
Freeman, J.W. and Garcia, M.H. (1996), Hydraulic Model Study for the Drown
Proofing of Yorkville Dam, Illinois, Civil Engineering Studies, Hydraulic
Engineering Sereis No. 50.
Hauser. G. E., Shane, R. M and Brock, W.G. (1991), Innovative Reregulation Weirs for
Dam Releases, Proc. 1991 Nat. Conf. on Hydr. Eng., ASCE, Jul. 29- Aug 2, pp
178-183.
Hoctkiss, R. and Comstock, M. (1992), Discussion of Downproofing of Low Overflow
Structures, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 118, No. 11, pp 15861588.
Physical Hydraulic Modeling of the Dam, City of Waco, Water Utility Services,
Retrieved on June 20, 2005 from http://www.waco-texas.com/brazosdesign.htm.
Rajaratnam, N. (1990), Skimming Flow in Stepped Spillways, Journal of
Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 116, No. 4, pp 587-591.