SPILLWAYS, GATES AND OUTLET WORKS

• Some provision must be made in the design of almost every dam

to permit the discharge of water downstream.
• A spillway is necessary to discharge floods and prevent the dam
from being damaged.
• Gates on the spillway crest, together with sluiceways, permit the
operator to control the release of water downstream for various
purposes.
• In some cases facilities to regulate the flow in canals or pipelines
leading from the reservoir are also necessary.

Spillways

• A spillway is the safety valve for a dam.

• It must have the capacity to discharge major floods without
damage to the dam or any appurtenant structures, at the same
time keeping the reservoir level below some predetermined
maximum level.
• A spillway may be controlled or uncontrolled; a controlled spillway
is provided with crest gates or other facilities so that the outflow
rate can be adjusted.

Spillway Design Capacity:

• The required capacity (maximum outflow rate through the

spillway) depends on the spillway design flood (inflow hydrograph to
the reservoir), the discharge capacity of the outlet works, and the
available storage.
• The selection of the spillway design flood is related to the degree
of protection that ought to be provided to the dam which, in turn,
depends on the type of dam, its location, and consequences of
failure of the dam.
• A high dam storing a large volume of water located upstream of
an inhabited area should have a much higher degree of protection
than a low dam storing a small quantity of water whose
downstream reach is uninhabited.
• The probable maximum flood is commonly used for the former
while a smaller flood based on frequency analysis is suitable for the
latter.
•A determination of the area that would be flooded if the dam
were to fail is helpful in determining the acceptable risk.
• Computer programs that emit analysis of the flood wave resulting
from the breach of a dam are available.
• The National Weather Service Program DAMBRK, for example,
simulates the flood wave that is created by the breach and routes
the wave downstream.
• This permits an estimate of the bounds of flooding.

Overflow Spillway:

• An overflow spillway is a section of dam designed to permit water

to pass over its crest.
• Overflow spillways are widely used on gravity, arch, and buttress
dams. Some earth dams have a concrete gravity section designed
to serve as a spillway.
• The design of the spillway for low dams is not usually critical, and
a variety of simple crest patterns are used. In the case of high
dams it is important that the overflowing water be guided smoothly
over the crest with a minimum of turbulence.
• If the overflowing water breaks contact with the spillway surface,
a vacuum will form at the point of separation and cavitation may
occur.
• Cavitation plus the vibration from the alternate making and
breaking of contact between the water and the face of the dam may
result in serious structural damage.
• Some implosive activity will occur at the surfaces of the passage
and in the crevices and pores of the boundary material.
• Under a continual bombardment of these implosions, the surface
undergoes fatigue failure and small particles are broken away,
giving the surface a spongy appearance. This damaging action of
cavitation is called pitting.
• The ideal spillway would take the form of the underside of the
nappe of a sharp-crested weir when the flow rate corresponds to
the maximum design capacity of the spillway.
• Figures 9.1 b and 9.1c show an ogee weir that closely
approximates the ideal.
• The reverse curve on the downstream face of the spillway should
be smooth and gradual. A radius of about one-fourth of the spillway
height has proved satisfactory.
• Structural design of an ogee spillway is essentially the same as
the design of a concrete gravity section.
• The pressure exerted on the crest of the spillway by the flowing
water and the drag forces caused by fluid friction are usually small
in comparison with the other forces acting on the section.
• The change of momentum of the flow in the vicinity of the
reverse curve may, however, create a force that must be considered.
• Recent developments in the design of overflow spillways show
that a ramp of proper shape and size when properly located (Fig.
9.1e) will direct the water away from the spillway surface to form a
cavity.
• To be effective, air must be freely admitted to the cavity. The
result is that air is entrained in the water, the water bulks up, and
when it returns to the spillway surface, there is no problem with
cavitations.
• On very high spillways these ramps may be used in tandem. By
placing a projecting corbel on the upstream face of the spillway
section, (Fig. 9.1f) a saving in concrete can be effected.
• The discharge of an overflow spillway is given by the weir
equation.
where,
Q = discharge, cfs or m3/s
Q  C w Lh 32
Cw = discharge coefficient
L = length of the crest, ft or m
h = head on the spillway (vertical dist. from
crest to reservoir level), ft or m

• The coefficient Cw varies with the design head. For the standard
overflow crest of Fig. 9.1c the variation of Cw is given in Fig.9.2.
• Experimental models are often used to determine spillway
coefficients.
• End contractions on a spillway reduce the effective length below
the actual length L.
• Square-cornered piers disturb the flow considerably and reduce
the effective length by the width of the piers plus about 0.2h for
each pier (Fig.9.3).
• Streamlining the piers or flaring the spillway entrance minimizes
the flow disturbance.
• If the cross-sectional area of the reservoir just upstream from the
spillway is less than five times the area of flow over the spillway,
the approach velocity will increase the discharge a noticeable
amount.
• The effect of approach velocity can be accounting for by the
equation.
32
 V 
2 where,
Q  Cw L h  o
 Vo = approach velocity
 2g 

Example: An ogee spillway 16 ft long is designed according to

Figures 9.1c and 9.2 to pass 420 cfs when the water–surface
elevation upstream of the spillway is 23.0 ft. The reservoir bottom
is horizontal and at elevation 0.0 ft upstream of the spillway. Find
the flow when the water-surface elevation upstream of the spillway
is 21.5 ft. Assume no end contractions and neglect velocity
approach.
Chute Spillway:

• A chute spillway, variously called as open channel or trough

spillway, is one whose discharge is conveyed from the reservoir to
the downstream river level through an open channel, placed either
along a dam abutment or through a saddle.
• The channel is usually constructed of reinforced-concrete slabs l0
to 20 in.(0.25 to 0.50 m) thick. Such a structure is relatively light
and is well adapted to earth or rock-fill dams.
• A chute spillway may be constructed around the end of any type
of dam when topographic conditions permit, and such a location is
preferred to earth dams to prevent possible damage to the
embankment.
• The chute is sometimes of constant width but is usually narrowed
for economy and then widened near the end to reduce discharge
velocity.
• If the grade of the chute can conform to topography, excavation
will be minimized.
• Vertical curves should be gradual and designed to avoid
separation of the flow from the channel bottom.
• The side walls of the chute must be of adequate height to
accommodate bulking of the water caused by the entrainment of air
in the high-velocity flow.
• Expansion joints are usually required in chute spillways at
intervals of about 30 ft (10m). If water penetrates under the slab, it
may cause troublesome uplift.
• The expansion joints should therefore be as watertight as
possible, and drains under the spillway are necessary. These may
be rock-filled trenches or perforated steel pipe.
• Suitable filters must be provided to control piping. The slabs of a
chute spillway should be keyed together in such a manner that the
upstream end of a slab cannot rise above the block next upstream.
Side-Channel Spillway:

• A side-channel spillway is one in which the flow, after passing

over the crest, is carried away in a channel running parallel to the
crest.
• The crest is usually a concrete gravity section, but it may consist
of pavement laid on an earth embankment or the natural ground
surface.
• This type of spillway is used in narrow canyons where sufficient
crest length is not available for overflow or chute spillways.
• Figure 9.7 shows a sketch of the flow in a side-channel. Analysis
of flow in the side channel is made by application of the momentum
principle in the direction of flow.
• Residual energy of the water after passing the spillway crest is
ignored in the design of the side channel. In fact, a weir, or sill, is
often placed at the downstream end of the channel to create a
stilling basin to dissipate this energy.
• After passing through the side channel, the water is ordinarily
carried away through a chute or tunnel.
• There are many spillways that change direction immediately after
the crest and whose characteristics are intermediate between the
chute and the side channel.
Shaft Spillway:

• A Shaft Spillway is one where water enters over a horizontally

positioned lip, drops through a vertical or sloping shaft, and then
flows to the downstream river channel through a horizontal or
nearly horizontal conduit or tunnel.
• It can often be used where there is inadequate space for other
types of spillways.
• It is generally considered undesirable to carry a spillway over or
through an earth dam. If topography prevents the use of a chute or
side-channel spillway around the end of the dam, a shaft spillway
through the foundation material may be a good alternative.
• For low dams where the shaft height is small, no special inlet
design is necessary, but on large projects a flared inlet, referred to
as a morning glory, is often used.
• Small shaft spillways may be constructed entirely of metal or
concrete pipe or clay tile. The vertical shaft of large structures is
usually reinforced concrete, while the horizontal conduit is tunneled
in rock. Frequently the diversion tunnel is planned so that it may be
used for the spillway outlet.
• There are three possible conditions of flow in a shaft spillway as
shown in Figure 9.9. At low heads the outlet conduit flows partly
full, the perimeter of the inlet serves as a weir, and the discharge of
the spillway varies as h1 3/2 .
• As the head is increased, water rises in the shaft, and the outlet
may flow partly full (weir flow) or full (orifice flow). When the shaft
is completely filled with water and the inlet is submerged, the
discharge becomes approximately proportional to h1 1/2 (pipe flow)
where h2 is the total head on the outlet.
• In this third stage, an increase in h2 results in only a very slight
increase in discharge. This, in effect, places a limit on the capacity
of a shaft spillway.
• The relation between flow rate and water-surface elevation of a
properly designed shaft spillway is depicted by the solid line in Fig.
9.9; if improperly designed, a throttling of the flow will occur when
the flow changes to pipe flow, as shown by the dashed line.
• An abrupt transition between the shaft and outlet conduit may
result in cavitation; hence a smooth transition is preferred in large
structures.
•Hydraulicanalysis of shaft spillways is difficult, and model tests are
often employed.
•Models must be used with caution, for the air pressure in the
model is not reduced to model scale.
• An undesirable feature of shaft spillways is the hazard of clogging
with debris.
• Trash racks, floating booms, or other types of protection are
necessary to prevent debris from entering the inlet.
Siphon Spillway:

• A siphon spillway is a closed conduit system formed in the shape

of an inverted U, positioned so that the inside of the bend of the
upper passageway is at normal reservoir storage level.
• If a large capacity is not necessary and space is limited, the
siphon spillway may be a practical selection.
• Siphon spillways have the advantage that they can automatically
maintain water-surface elevation within very close limits. At low
flows, the siphon spillway operates like an overflow spillway with its
crest at C as shown in Figure 9.10.
• If the outlet of the siphon is not submerged (Figure 9.10a), the
head h is the vertical distance from the water surface in the
reservoir to the end of the siphon barrel.
• When the outlet is submerged, h is the difference in elevation
between the headwater and tail water (Fig. 9.10b).
• If air is prevented from entering the outlet end of the siphon, flow
through the siphon will entrain and remove the air at the crown and
prime the siphon.
• Entrance of air can be prevented by deflecting the flow across the
barrel in such a way as to seal it off or by submerging the outlet
end of the barrel.
• Siphon action will continue until the water level in the reservoir
drops to the elevation at the upper lip of the siphon entrance unless
a vent is provided at a higher level.
• A siphon may be designed so that variations in upstream water
level are small with respect to total head, and thus the discharge is
nearly always at capacity when the siphon is primed.
• This makes the siphon spillway particularly advantageous in
disposing of sudden surges of water such as may occur in canals
and forebays when the outlet gates are closed rapidly.

• As soon as a siphon is primed, a vacuum forms at the crown. In

older to prevent cavitation, the siphon should be designed so that
this vacuum never exceeds three-fourths atmospheric pressure.
• Thus, at sea level the vertical distance from the crown of the
siphon down to the hydraulic grade line should not exceed about 25
ft (7.5m).
• At higher elevations the limiting distance from crown to grade line
is still smaller.
• If the entrance of the siphon remains submerged to a depth of 6
ft (2m) there is little likelihood of clogging from debris or ice, but
trash racks may be a wise precaution.
• One disadvantage of the siphon spillway is the relatively high cost
of forming the barrel, but if the siphon can be made from pipe, the
cost may not be high.

Service Spillways and Emergency Spillway:

• On many projects a single spillway serves to discharge all rates of

outflow. In some instances, however, it is economic to have more
than one spillway – a service or auxiliary spillway to convey
frequently occurring outflow rates and one or more emergency
spillways that are used only rarely during extreme floods.
• Often a saddle or low point on natural ground at the periphery of
the reservoir will serve as the emergency spillway. In other
instances an engineered structure is used.
• An example of a “service-emergency spillway structure” is shown
in Fig. 9.11 in which the side-channel spillway with concrete
discharge chute is designed to handle the outflow from the 50 yr
flood.
• Larger flows pass over the backside of the side-channel spillway
(secondary weir) and are conveyed to the river through a natural
depression.

Dynamic Forces on Spillways:

• Newton’s second law of motion states that force equals the time
rate of change of momentum.
• The resultant of the forces on an element of water is:

 = density of water
 F  QV Q = flow rate
V = change in velocity
in vector form,

F x 
 Q V2x  V1x  F y 
 Q V2 y  V1y 
• This equations may be used to find the dynamic forces exerted by
water on spillways, deflectors, turbine blades, pipe bends, and other
hydraulic structures,
• The forces Fx and Fy are those acting on a significant free body of
fluid which include gravity forces, hydrostatic pressures, and the
reaction of any object in contact with the water.

Example: Given the ogee spillway of Figure 9.12a with Cw = 3.8,

find the total force of the water on the curved section AB.

CREST GATES:

• Additional storage above the spillway crest can be made available

by the installation of temporary or movable gates.
• Such an increase in reservoir level is permissible in the low-water
season, when low flows may be permitted over the crest-control
device.
• If a large flood occurs, full spillway capacity may be made
available by removing the temporary barriers. These devices must
be used with caution on spillway of earth dams, where operational
failure of the gates may result in overtopping of the dam.
Flashboards:

• The usual flashboard installation consists of wooden panels

supported by vertical pins placed on the crest of the spillway as
shown on Figure 9.13a. Such installations are temporary and are
designed to fail when the water surface in the reservoir reaches a
predetermined level.
• A common design uses steel pipe or rod set loosely in sockets in
the crest of the dam and designed to bend and release the
flashboards at the desired water level. Temporary flashboards of
this type have been used in heights up to 4 or 5 ft (1.3 or 1.7 m).
•Since temporary flashboards are lost each time the supports fail,
permanent flashboards are more economic for large installations.
• Permanent flashboards usually consist of panels that can be
raised or lowered from an overhead cableway or bridge as shown in
Figure 9.13b.
• In this setup, the lower edge of the panels is placed in a seat or
hinge on the spillway crest, and the panels are supported in the
raised position by struts or by attaching the upper edge of the panel
to the bridge.
Stop Logs and Needles:

• Stop logs consist of horizontal timbers spanning the space

between grooved piers as shown in Figure 9.14a.
• The logs may be raised by hand or with a hoist.
• There is usually much leakage between the logs, and considerable
time may be required for removing the logs if they become jammed
in the slots.
• Stop logs are ordinarily used for small installations where the cost
of more elaborate devices is not warranted or in situations where
removable or replacement of the stop logs is expected only at very
infrequent intervals.
• Needles consists of timbers with their power ends resting in a
keyway on the spillway crest and their upper ends supported by a
bridge as shown in Figure 9.14b.
• Needles are somewhat easier to remove than stop logs but are
quite difficult to place in flowing water. Consequently, they are used
mainly for emergency bulkheads, where they need not be replaced
until flow has stopped.
Vertical Lift Gates:

• Simple timber or steel gates that slide in vertical guides on piers

on the crest of the dam are used for small installations.
• Their size is limited by the high friction force developed in the
guides because of the hydrostatic force on the gate.
• By placing cylindrical rollers between the bearing surfaces of the
gate and guides, the frictional resistance can be much reduced.
• The stoney gate has rollers that are independent of the gate or
guides, thus eliminating axle friction.
• The independent roller train of the stoney gate is difficult to
design and build, and the development of low-friction roller bearings
has led to the use of the fixed-wheel gate, which has wheels
attached to the gate and riding in tracks of the downstream side of
the gate guide.
• In the large sizes excessive headroom is required to lift the gate
clear of the water surface, and large vertical lift gates are often built
in two horizontal sections so that the upper portion may be lifted
and removed from the guides before the lower portion is moved.
• This design also reduces
the load on the hoisting
mechanism. Discharge my
occur over either one or
both sections of the gate or
over the spillway crest.
• A gate 50 ft (15m)
square may have to
support a water load of
over 2000 tons, and the
gate itself may weigh 150
tons.

• Design of such a gate and its operating mechanism is a

structural and mechanical problem of considerable magnitude.
• Accurate alignment of the rollers and guides is necessary so that
the gate will operate satisfactorily.
Tainter Gates/Radial Gates:

• Tainter, or radial gate is

the most widely used type
of crest gate for large
installations; it is the
simplest and usually the
most reliable and least
expensive.
• The face of the gate is a
cylindrical segment suppor-
ted on a steel framework
that is pivoted on trunnions
set in the downstream
portion of the piers on the
spillway crest.

• Hoisting cables are attached to the gate and lead to winches on

the platform above the gate.
• The winches are usually motor driven, tough hand power may b
used for small gates.
• Each gate may have its independent hoisting mechanism or a
common unit may be moved from gate to gate.
• Flexible fabric or a rubber strip is used to form a water seal
between the gates and the piers and spillway crest.
• A movable flap is sometimes attached to the top of the gate to
permit floating material to pass readily over the gate.
• Tainter gates vary in size from 3 to 35 ft (1 to 11 m) in height
and 6 to 60 ft (2 to 18 m) in length.
• One of the largest tainter-gate installations is at Cark Hill Dam in
Georgia, which as 23 Tainter gates 35 ft (11 m) high and 60 ft (18
m) long.
• Tainter gates have several advantages. Friction is concentrated at
the pin and is usually much les than for sliding gates.
• Since the trunnion bears the part of the load, the hoisting load is
nearly constant for all gate openings and is much less than for
vertical-lift gates of the same size.
• Counterweights are sometimes required for large gates of either
radial or vertical-lift type.
Roller Gates:
• A rolling or roller gate consists of a steel cylinder spanning
between the piers.
• Each pier has an inclined rack that engages gear teeth encircling
the ends of the cylinder.
• When a pull is exerted on the hoisting cable, the gate rolls up the
rack.
• The lower portion of the gate consists of a cylindrical segment
that makes contact with the spillway crest and increases the gate
height.
• Rolling gates are well adapted to long spans of moderate height.

Drum Gates:

• Another type of gates adapted to long spans is the drum gate as

shown in Figure 9.16. This gate consists of a segment of a cylinder
which, in the open or lowered position, fits in a recess in the top of
the spillway.
• When water is admitted to the recess, the hollow drum gate is
forced upward to the closed position.
• The type developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as shown
in Figure 9.16a is a completely enclosed gate, hinged at the
upstream edge so that buoyant forces aid in its lifting.
• This type of gate is adapted to automatic operation and also
conforms closely to the shape of the ogee crest when lowered.
• A second type as shown in Figure 9.16b has no bottom plate and
is raised by water pressure alone. Because of the large recess
required by drum gates in the lowered portion, they are not
adapted to small dams.
Figure: Drum Gate
Bear Trap Gate:

• A bear-trap gate consists of two leaves of timber or steel hinged

and sealed to the dam as shown in Figure 9.17.
• When water is admitted to the space under the leaves, they are
forced upward.
• The downstream leaf is frequently hollow so that its buoyancy aids
the lifting operation.
• This type of gate is adapted to low navigation dams, since at high-
river stages the gate may be lowered so as not to interfere with
navigation over it.
Rubber Gate:

• Inflatable rubber dams are rubberized fabric tubes which are

anchored to a sill and inflated to form a dam.
• These dams are limited to very low-head project usage, are
subject to puncturing and vandalism, and are not recommended for
major projects.
 Rubber Gate/Rubber Dam:

• Inflatable rubber dams are rubberized fabric tubes which are

anchored to a sill and inflated to form a dam.
• These dams are limited to very low-head project usage, are subject
to puncturing and vandalism, and are not recommended for major
projects.

• The dam is activated by

pumping water into the rubber
bladder thus inflating it to form
a barrier that stands out above
the channel bottom thus
blocking the channel.
• The dam is deactivated by
releasing the water from inside
the bladder. In its inflated state
the rubber dam may be strong
enough for use as a temporary
bridge for pedestrians and
lightweight vehicles.