Model Investigations of Scouring at the Hričov Weir Using Short-Range Photogrammetry

Stilling basins are commonly used to efficiently dissipate energy of flow at weirs. Different types of stilling basins are used at weirs due to different conditions – hydraulic, operational, constructional. At the Hričov water structure a short stilling basin has been built. Its operation over the years showed that it does not dissipate the energy of the flowing water sufficiently, which causes intense scouring in the riverbed downstream. To partially deal with this problem and to protect the riverbed from scours, a rockfill embankment supported with a steel construction was constructed adjacent to the stilling basin’s toe. Despite this riverbed fortification, scours are being created in the riverbed and even in the fortification itself for different cases of operation conditions of the weir. A hydraulic research on a scaled model of the weir was used to investigate the problem and to propose a permanent solution significantly improving the scouring downstream the weir. The proposed fortification of the riverbed downstream the weir was tested at different operational conditions, which simulated extreme situations at the weir. To assess the effects of the investigated fortification, the simulations were performed for the weir without and with the fortification. After each simulation, the deformations in the riverbed (scours) were measured and evaluated. For measuring the riverbed deformations on the model, the method of short-range photogrammetry was used as a very effective and contactless method. This method allowed to examine the investigated area with a very high accuracy and speed. Digital models of the riverbed deformations created after each simulation on the hydraulic model were used to determine the locations and sizes of the deepest scours. Final assessment of the results showed the improvement in the reduction of scouring by the proposed fortification by almost 50% in the size of the scours. The investigations and the results are described in this paper.

Fluctuating Characteristics of the Stilling Basin with a Negative Step Based on Hilbert-Huang Transform

The violent fluctuation of hydrodynamic pressure in stilling basins is an important factor threatening the safety of the bottom plates of stilling basins, and plays an important role in the safe operation of stilling basins. In order to deeply understand the fluctuating characteristics of stilling basins, the fluctuating pressure signal of a stilling basin bottom plate is processed by the Hilbert-Huang transform method through a hydraulic model test. In this paper, three signal decomposition methods are used to decompose the pulsating pressure signal. A Hilbert transform is used to select the component with the best decomposition effect. The time-frequency-amplitude diagram of the pulsating pressure signal is obtained by Hilbert transform, and its time-frequency characteristics are discussed in depth. The analysis results are as follows: (a) the decomposition results from the CEEMD method are orthogonal and complete. The HHT method is suitable for processing fluctuating pressure signals. (b) With an increase in IMF decomposition order, the signal frequency band becomes narrow, the Hilbert spectrum amplitude decreases and the pulsating pressure energy decreases. The decomposition of the fluctuating pressure signal into components of different scales shows that the turbulence is composed of multiple scales of vortices, reflecting the vortex structure in the turbulence. (c) The jet impingement zone of the drop bucket stilling basin is near x/L = 0.075. The dominant frequency and marginal spectrum energy of the jet impingement zone are very prominent, and the marginal spectrum energy is mostly concentrated within 5.0 Hz. (d) At different drop height and different flow energy ratio, the fluctuation in the dominant frequency of fluctuating pressure decreases, the dominant frequency of the head of the stilling basin is larger, the dominant frequency of the middle and rear parts tends to be stable, and the dominant frequency is finally stabilized at about 1.0 Hz. This paper attempts to use the HHT method to process the fluctuating pressure signal, and the results provide a new discussion method for exploring the fluctuating pressure characteristics of hydraulic structures.

Energy Dissipation in Stilling Basins with Side Jets from Highly Convergent Chutes

Spillways with Highly Converging Chutes (HCCs) are a non-conventional alternative that can be applied to achieve a higher outflow capacity when the weir length exceeds the width of the valley at the toe of gravity or arch dams. This kind of spillway has been used in the past, but no general studies have yet been published. This article summarizes experimental research work aiming to increase the knowledge of the effect of some design parameters of HCCs on the energy dissipation in the stilling basin at the toe of the dam. As a comparison reference, we use the Type I stilling basins, widely known by the technical dam engineering community. The obtained results show that spillways with HCCs are a promising alternative to traditional designs, combining the ability to increase the weir length with a high capacity to dissipate energy through the impingement effect of the frontal and the side jets inside the stilling basin.

Experimental assessment of secondary stilling basin at the Hričov weir

One of the main problems at the Hričov weir is the scour development in the riverbed just downstream. It is caused of construction the size of the stilling basin was significantly shortened. Flow energy is dissipating just partially. Each flood makes scour close to the foundations of the structure, which potentially endangers its stability. A permanent solution was experimentally investigated in the hydraulic laboratory at the 2D model in a scale of 1:40. Different variants of the secondary stilling basins were designed to minimize creating scours. The investigation and its results are described in this paper.

Riverbed Protection Downstream of an Undersized Stilling Basin by Means of Antifer Artificial Blocks

Erosion at either dam or spillway foundations, destabilization in riverbanks, and damage in the natural environment located downstream of either dams or spillways represent crucial elements to be taken into account in the risk assessment of hydraulic structures. One of the main problems is related to the scouring that water flow may induce at the downstream boundary of spillways. This issue is exacerbated in the case of undersized stilling basins, i.e., when a significant level of energy migrates downstream by acting on unprotected natural riverbed. If the scour depths are large enough, the structural stability of the infrastructure will be threatened. This paper aims to illustrate an innovative technical solution suitable to protect the riverbed located just downstream of stilling basins by means of artificial Antifer blocks. These kinds of artificial blocks are widely used in the field of maritime construction, but in the literature, there are no theoretical formulations for their design within the frame of river engineering. In order to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed technical solution, it is applied to a real case investigated by means of physical modeling. The riverbed located just downstream of the stilling basin of Liscione Dam (Campobasso, Italy) experienced scour due to high discharges during and after extreme rain events. Different protection strategies have been tested to assess the influence of different placement methods and packing densities on the stability of Antifer block armor layers. Experimental findings reveal that regular placements behave more stable than irregular placements with a similar packing density.

STILLING BASIN WITH A FLOW SWIRLING

In the given materials there is given an analysis of the operation of existing constructions of devices for dissipation of excess energy of idle water discharges at hydraulic engineering facilities. The most applied design for dissipation of fl ow energy in the practice of hydraulic building in the world is stilling basins with straight axis made in prismatic or trapezoidal shapes which is appealing in their simplicity. The main disadvantage of these stilling wells in case of their using together with tubular spillways, especially having several strings, is practical impossibility to provide uniform distribution of specific discharges at the outlet from the spillway. This is connected with the fact that with several strings it is difficult to provide uniform distribution of specific discharges in the inlet section of the stilling well, it causes appearance of unstable regimes during operation of the stilling basin, especially in case of spillway operation with incomplete front which makes them inapplicable exactly for multi-point tubular spillways. At the same time, by deforming the stilling basin well flow in the form of a spiral, it is possible to reduce the length of the spilling basin by creating the possibility of the planned symmetric spreading of the flow in the output section in the diversion channel of the stilling basin, allowing using it if necessary to repeatedly expand the flow behind the spillway.

Pressure Fluctuations in the Spatial Hydraulic Jump in Stilling Basins with Different Expansion Ratio

Pressure fluctuations are a key issue in hydraulic engineering. However, despite the large number of studies on the topic, their role in spatial hydraulic jumps is not yet fully understood. The results herein shed light on the formation of eddies and the derived pressure fluctuations in stilling basins with different expansion ratios. Laboratory tests are conducted in a horizontal rectangular flume with 0.5 m width and 10 m length. The range of approaching Froude numbers spans from 6.4 to 12.5 and the channel expansion ratios are 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1. The effects of approaching flow conditions and expansion ratios are thoroughly analyzed, focusing on the dimensionless standard deviation of pressure fluctuations and extreme pressure fluctuations. The results reveal that these variables show a clear dependence on the Froude number and the distance to the hydraulic jump toe. The maximum values of extreme pressure fluctuations occur in the range 0.609<X<3.385, where X is dimensionless distance from the toe of the hydraulic jump, which makes it highly advisable to reinforce the bed of stilling basins within this range.