WEIRS AND BARRAGES:

• A hydraulic structure constructed across

a river is known as a dam, a weir or a
barrage.
• A weir is a structurally safe streamlined
wall, built at a suitable site across a
river. It is a low head-structure for the
purpose of diverting river water.
• A barrage is a gated weir
COMPONENTS OF A BARRAGE:
1. U/S (Up stream) floor:
 To lengthen the path of seepage and to protect
the middle portion where the piers , gates, and
bridge are to be found.
 Also to control the river water level so as to
divert the required quantity of water at required
level into the canal.
2. Concrete blocks:
 To raise the level of the supply so that it can
command the area to be irrigated.
 Barrage components
3. Stone-filling:
To gain command economically when canal has to
pass in expensive cutting.

4. U/S Apron (Pucca floor):

To reduce the fluctuations of the level of the river.

5. U/S Sheet pile:

These are situated at the U/S end of the U/S
concrete floor. The piles are driven into the soil
beyond the maximum possible scour that may
occur. The functions are:
 i. To protect the barrage structure from the
scour.
ii. To reduce the uplift pressure on the
barrage floor.
iii.To hold the sand compacted and densified
between two sheet piles in order to increase the
bearing capacity when the barrage floor is
designed as a raft.
 In recently built barrage such as Qadirabad
and Chasma, upto 2 tons/ sq.ft. of bearing
capacity has been obtained .
 6: Intermediate Sheet Piles:
These are situated at the end of U/S and D/S glacis.
 In the event of U/S or D/S sheet piles
collapsing due to advancing scour or undermining,
then these sheet piles give protection to main
structure of the barrage i.ethe piers carrying the
gates, the road bridge and service bridge.
 The intermediate sheet piles also help lengthen the
seepage path and reduce uplift pressure.
7(a). U/S Glacis:
The U/S glacis have the necessary slope to join the U/S
floor level with the highest point, the crest.
7(b). D/S Glacis:
This had a suitable shape and slope. This joins the crest
to the D/S floor level (which may be at the river bed
level or below), the hydraulic jump forms on the glacis
since it is more stable than on the horizontal floor and
this reduces the length of pucca work required at D/S.
8. Crest:
The crest is at the required height above the floor on
which the gate rests in its closed position.
 9. D/S Apron:
 The d/s floor is made of concrete and is
constructed so as to contain the hydraulic jump.
 Thus it takes care of turbulence which would
otherwise cause erosion.
 It is also provided with friction blocks of a
suitable shape and at a distances determined by
the hydraulic model experiments in order to
increase friction and destroy residual kinetic
energy.
10. D/S sheet piles:
D/S sheet piles are placed at the end of the d/s concrete
floor and their main function is to check the exit gradient.
Their depth should be greater than the maximum
possible scour.
11. Inverted Filter:
 An inverted filter is provided between the d/s sheet piles
and the flexible protection.
 It would typically consist of 6" sand, 9"Coarse sand , 9”
gravel. The filter material may vary with the size of the
particles forming the river bed.
 It is protected by placing over it concrete blocks of
sufficient weight and size (4'x2.75 'x4' used in the
Kalabagh barrage).
 Silts are left between the blocks to allow the water to
escape.
 The silts are filled with sand. The length of the filter
should be ( 2 x d / s ) depth of the sheet piles.
 Its primary function is to check the escape of fine soil
particles in the seepage water.
 In the case of scour, it provides adequate cover for the
d/s sheet piles against the steeping of the exit gradient.
Barrage-Cross-Section
Barrage Plan
 COMPONENTS FROM PLAN
1. Under sluices:
 A number of bays at the extreme ends of the barrage
adjacent to the canal regulator will have a lower crest
level than the rest of the bays.
 The main function is to draw water by the formation
of a deep channel in lower river flow and, secondly,
to help control the flow of silt into the canal by
reducing the water velocity by the formation of deep
channel in front of the canal.
 Accumulated silt can be washed away easily by
opening the under sluice gates to high velocity
currents generated by lower crest levels or a high
differential head.
2. Divide Wall:
 The divide wall separates under sluice bays from the
normal bays.
 Its length on the U/S side has to be sufficient to keep the
heavy turbulence at the nose of the wall well away from
the protection of the sluices.
 Similarly, in the d/s side it should extend to cover the
hydraulic jump and the resulting turbulence.
 The main functions are:
a. To separate the under sluices from the normal
bays to avoid the heavy turbulence which would
otherwise occur due to a differential head in the two
sections. This helps by creating a still pond in front of the
canal off take thereby allowing better site control.
b. To generate a parallel flow and thereby avoid
damage to the flexible protection area of the
undersluice portion.
3. Fish Ladder:
 It is constructed along the divide wall. It is a
device designed to allow fish to negotiate the
artificial barrier in either direction. The general
requirements of a fish ladder are:
1. Plenty of light should be admitted in the fish-way.
2. The water supply should be ample at all times.
3. The top and sides of a fish-way should be above
ordinary high water level
Fish Ladder
 The slope of the fish ladder should not be
steeper than 1:10 (i.e velocity shouldn’t not
exceed 2 m/s in any portion of the fish-way).
4. Guide Banks:
 Guide banks are earthen embankment with stone
pitching to guide the river through the barrage.
5. Marginal Bunds:
 Marginal Bunds are flood embankments in
continuation of the guide banks designed to
contain the floods within the flood plain of the
river. Both height and length vary according to the
back-water effect produced by the barrage.
 PURPOSE OF THE BARRAGE
• 1. To divert the required quantity of
water from the river to the canals.
• 2. To raise the area proposed for
irrigation by gravity flow.
• 3. To allow proper silt control.
• 4. To provide permanent Headworks for
the canals in order to protect them during
floods by providing for complete closure.
• 5. To provide better regulation than
weir.
SITE SELECTION OF BARRAGE
The following consideration should be kept in
mind when deciding on the site for a barrage.
1. The site must have a good command over
the are to be irrigated, and must also be not too
far distant to avoid long feeder channels.
2. The width of the river at the site should
preferably be the minimum with a well defined and
stable river approach.
3. A good land approach to the site will reduce
the expense of transportation and, therefore, the
cost of the barrage.
4. Easy diversion of the river after construction.
5. Existence of central approach of the river to the
barrage after diversion. This is essential for
proper silt control.
6. If it is intended to convert the existing
inundation canals into perennial canals, site
selection is limited by the position of the head
regulator and the alignment of the existing
inundation canals.
7. A rock foundation is the best but in alluvial
plains the bed is invariably sandy.
Consideration for Layout of Barrage:
 The common practice in Pakistan was to build the
barrage on dry land in a bye river and after
completion to divert the river through it.
 This gave an oblique approach and created
problems. The irrigation Research Institute, Lahore
on the basis of extensive hydraulic model
experiments for each individual case suggests.
1. Where the angle between the headwork axis
and the river axis exceeds 10ᴼ the problems arises
of concentration of flow on one side and island
formation (due to heavy silting)within the guide
banks on the other side, as at Islam, Sidhnai and
Ballokee barrages.
2. If the river axis is to the right of the headwork
axis the concentration of flow is generally on the left
side with the consequent tendency to form an island
on the right and vice versa.
3. When a barrage is located below the confluence
of two rivers, it should be located sufficiently far below
the confluence and consideration must be given as to
which of the two rivers dominate the confluence.
4. The most suitable site for a barrage when
constructed on dry land, is below the outer side of the
convex band, which is followed by straight reach off
the river.
 SOME IMPORTANT TERMS
Khadir:
The Khadir is the flood plain of the river.
Khadir Axis:
The Khadir axis is a line passing through the centre
of the river course, between the two high banks upto
the backwater effect.
Weir Axis:
The weir axis is a line along which the crest off the
weir is laid.
River Axis:
The river axis is a line parallel to the Khadir axis at
the centre of the weir axis between the abutments.
Barrage plan
Headworks Axis:
The Headworks axis is a line perpendicular to the weir
axis at the centre of the weir abutments.
Retrogression:
Retrogression is a very important phenomenon
which occurs after the construction of weir or
barrage in a river flowing through alluvial soil. As a
result of back-water effects and the increase in
depths, the velocity of the water decreases
resulting in the deposition of the sediment load.
Therefore, the water overflowing the barrage
having less silt, picks up silt from the d/s bed. This
results in the lowering of the d/s river bed for a few
miles. This is known as retrogression.
 Retrogression Accretion
Retrogression may occur for the first few years and bed
levels often recover their previous level. The phenomenon
is temporary because the river regime, its slope, adapts to
the new conditions of flow created by the barrage within a
few years and then the water flowing over the weir has a
normal silt load. The d/s cycle than reverses due to the
greater depth, silt is then deposited and the d/s
retrogressed bed recovers to the point of equilibrium.
Retrogression value is minimum for a flood discharge and
maximum for a low discharge. The values vary from 2 feet
to 8.5 feet.
ACCRETION:
Accretion is the reverse of retrogression and normally
occurs u/s although may also occur d/s after the
retrogression cycle is complete. There is no accurate
method of calculating the values of retrogression and
accretion but the values that have been recorded at
various barrages may serve as guidelines.
 UNDERMINING OF WEIRS

When the seepage velocity in the microscopic flow

channels in the sub-soil under the apron is such that
the seepage force at the exit point becomes greater
than the submerged weight and friction off the soil,
very fine soil particles become displaced.
This can be observed as muddy water emerging from
the soil surface. With this continuing process and a
subsoil consisting of fine particles surrounding larger
particles, the removal of the fine particles causes
unequal settlement of the subsoil, and ultimately the
collapse of the structure due to piping. This is called
the piping phenomenon.
The quantity of seepage and the uplift force
depends on:
i. Differential head
ii.Characteristics of sub-soil
iii. Geometry of structure
Hydraulic gradient = H/L
Where 'L' is the distance travelled by a particle.
Exit gradient means the hydraulic gradient at the
exit. Similarly the entrance gradient is the hydraulic
gradient at entrance.
The critical path for a particle will be just along the
boundary of structure where 'I' is minimum, and is
called Creep Length, and at this path the exit
gradient (le) will be maximum.
The critical value of “ le” = 1. lf “ le” is more than l
then the piping phenomenon will take place, and
the structure may collapse.
So le should be less than 1 and we can make le
less than 1 by increasing the value of 'L'. The
creep length may be increased by providing the
sheet piles.
The problem Consists therefore in controlling the
seepage force so that it cannot carry away the
foundation materials. The various theories to solve
these problems are discussed in next slides.
 1. Bligh's Creep Theory

Bligh's (1912) assumed that, when seepage takes

place underneath a hydraulic structure, the
hydraulic gradient remains constant.
The length of line of contact of the structure
foundation with the porous medium including cut
off, sheet piles etc. is termed as "Creep Length".
The intensity of uplift force from heel to the toe is
dependent on the creep length. l = V+S
 Where
l= Creep length, V = Vertical distances
S = Horizontal distances
Therefore according to Bligh's creep theory for this
weir, the creep length is the distance travelled
along ABCDEFGHIJKLM and the hydraulic
gradient is constant.
 Along this path. We can find the head loss at
any point e.g.
 Head loss up to F = ( creep length up to 'F‘)/
(Total creep length)
= (AB+BC+CD+DE+FE)/

[AB+BC+CD+DE+EF+FG+GH+HI+IJ+JK+KL
+LM] * H
 Bligh discovered that piping occurs along the line of
creep. It can be avoided if the average hydraulic
gradient H/L, (Where H is total head during flow
and ‘L' is total distance travelled by the particle)
does not exceed 1/C. Where 'C' is a constant which
depends upon the type of porous material.
 A number of structures were built according to
Bligh's creep theory. Some of them were
successful while others failed and further
investigations were required to find a more sound
and scientific basis for weir design.
 The SUKKUR BARRAGE was the last to be built on
the basis of Bligh's creep theory. It is still standing
today because it happened to be a safe structure
by later design requirements.
2. Lane's weighted Creep theory

 Lane (1935) found that the drop in head from

head water to tail water depends on the weighted
creep length.
 The weight creep length was defined as the
sum of all the vertical distances plus 1/2 of the
horizontal creep distance.
 The horizontal creep distance includes all the
faces inclined at an angle less than 45ᴼ. The
weighted creep ratio is the ratio of the weighted
creep length to the head difference between the
head water and the tail water.
According to this theory, in computing creep length,
greater weight should be given to vertical cut-off
than to horizontal floors. The reasons are:
1. In practice, the contact between the vertical
and steeply sloping surface is likely to be closer
than that along horizontal or slightly sloping
surfaces.
2. The soil beneath the structure may settle and
leave empty spaces which will be aggravated by
piping with vertical surfaces the voids will be filled
due to earth pressure.
3. Vertical cut-off are more effective against
horizontal stratification, and check the free flow
through the layers of sow permeability.
According to Lane's weighted creep theory, the
weighted creep length is given as
lw = ---- ( 0.5S+V ) Where S = the sum of all
the horizontal contacts and of all the sloping contacts
less than 45o.
V = the sum of all the vertical contacts plus the
`.sloping contact greater than 45o
• To ensure safety against piping the average
hydraulic gradient H/lw must not exceed 1/C,
the value of 'C' are as given below:-
• Material C(Lane's Value) C(Bligh's
value)
• Very fine sand
• & silt 8.5 18
• Fine Sand 7.0 15
• Coarse Sand 5.7 12
 C values for
• Material C(Lane's Value) C(Bligh's value)
• Gravel & sand 3.5 to 3 9
• Boulders gravel 2.5 to 3 4 to 6
and sand
• Clayey soil 3.0 to 1.6 -------
Khosla’s Theory and Concept of
Flow Nets
 Many of the important hydraulic structures,
such as weirs and barrage, were designed
on the basis of Bligh’s theory between the
periods 1910 to 1925.
 In 1926 – 27, the upper Chenab canal siphons,
designed on Bligh’s theory, started posing
undermining troubles. Investigations started,
which ultimately lead to Khosla’s theory. The
main principles of this theory are summarized
below:
 The seepage water does not creep along the
bottom contour of pucca floor as started by
Bligh, but on the other hand, this water
moves along a set of stream-lines. This
steady seepage in a vertical plane for a
homogeneous soil can be expressed by
Laplacian equation:
 The above equation represents two sets of
curves intersecting each other orthogonally.
The resultant flow diagram showing both of the
curves is called a Flow Net.
 The streamlines represent the paths along
which the water flows through the sub-soil.
Every particle entering the soil at a given point
upstream of the work, will trace out its own path
and will represent a streamline.
• The first streamline follows the bottom contour
of the works and is the same as Bligh’s path of
creep. The remaining streamlines follows smooth
curves transiting slowly from the outline of the
foundation to a semi-ellipse, as shown below.
• Treating the downstream bed as datum and
assuming no water on the downstream side, it
can be easily started that every streamline
possesses a head equal to h1 while entering the
soil;
 and when it emerges at the down-stream end into the
atmosphere, its head is zero. Thus, the head h 1 is
entirely lost during the passage of water along the
streamlines.
 Further, at every intermediate point in its path, there is
certain residual head (h) still to be dissipated in the
remaining length to be traversed to the downstream
end. This fact is applicable to every streamline, and
hence, there will be points on different streamlines
having the same value of residual head h. If such
points are joined together, the curve obtained is called
an equipotential line.
 Since an equipotential line represent the joining
of points of equal residual head, hence if
piezometers were installed on an equipotential
line, the water will rise in all of them up to the
same level.
 The seepage water exerts a force at each point in
the direction of flow and tangential to the streamlines
as shown in figure above. This force (F) has an
upward component from the point where the
streamlines turns upward.
 For soil grains to remain stable, the upward component of
this force should be counterbalanced by the
submerged weight of the soil grain. This force has
the maximum disturbing tendency at the exit end,
because the direction of this force at the exit point is
vertically upward, and hence full force acts as its upward
component.
 For the soil grain to remain stable, the submerged
weight of soil grain should be more than this
upward disturbing force. The disturbing force at
any point is proportional to the gradient of
pressure of water at that point (i.e. dp/dt).
 This gradient of pressure of water at the exit end is
called the exit gradient. In order that the soil
particles at exit remain stable, the upward
pressure at exit should be safe. In other words, the
exit gradient should be safe.
 Critical Exit Gradient
 This exit gradient is said to be critical, when the
upward disturbing force on the grain is just equal
to the submerged weight of the grain at the exit.
 When a factor of safety equal to 4 to 5 is used,
the exit gradient can then be taken as safe. In
other words, an exit gradient equal to ¼ to 1/5 of
the critical exit gradient is ensured, so as to
keep the structure safe against piping.
• In order to know as to how the seepage below the
foundation of a hydraulic structure is taking place, it
is necessary to plot the flow net. In other words,
we must solve the Laplacian equations. This can
be accomplished either by mathematical solution of
the Laplacian equations, or by Electrical analogy
method, or by graphical sketching by adjusting the
streamlines and equipotential lines with respect to
the boundary conditions.
• These are complicated methods and are time
consuming.
 Khosla’s Method of independent variables
for determination of
pressures and exit gradient

 Therefore, for designing hydraulic structures

such as weirs or barrage or pervious
foundations, Khosla has evolved a simple,
quick and an accurate approach, called Method
of Independent Variables.
 In this method, a complex profile like that of a
weir is broken into a number of simple profiles;
each of which can be solved mathematically.
 The simple profiles which are most useful are:
1. A straight horizontal floor of negligible thickness
with a sheet pile line on the u/s end and d/s end.
2. A straight horizontal floor depressed below the
bed but without any vertical cut-offs.
3. A straight horizontal floor of negligible thickness
with a sheet pile line at some intermediate point.