Hydraulic performance of a pre-aerated stilling basin: Experimental study.

Spillway chutes are critical in dam flood control, particularly in high dams where high water heads and large discharge in narrow canyons amplify the demand for safe discharging. For large unit discharges in spillways, aeration protection is essential to prevent cavitation erosion, but challenges ar...

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Main Authors: Yu Zhou, Tengzhi Huang, Ke Xu, Jiakai Mei, Siwei Jia, Qiaoni Yu, Jinglin Qian
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318191
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author Yu Zhou
Tengzhi Huang
Ke Xu
Jiakai Mei
Siwei Jia
Qiaoni Yu
Jinglin Qian
author_facet Yu Zhou
Tengzhi Huang
Ke Xu
Jiakai Mei
Siwei Jia
Qiaoni Yu
Jinglin Qian
author_sort Yu Zhou
collection DOAJ
description Spillway chutes are critical in dam flood control, particularly in high dams where high water heads and large discharge in narrow canyons amplify the demand for safe discharging. For large unit discharges in spillways, aeration protection is essential to prevent cavitation erosion, but challenges arise from air duct choking in the traditional spillway and nonaerated regions in the stepped spillway. This paper introduces a novel spillway called the pre-aerated stilling basin spillway (PSBS). The primary distinction between PSBS and conventional spillways lies in the placement of aeration facilities. Conventional spillways feature a curved transition section that directly connects to the spillway. In contrast, the PSBS is equipped with a WES crest weir and a vertical sill of the same width, which converts supercritical to subcritical flow. This process strongly entrains air through hydraulic jumps at spillway entrances, thereby preventing cavitation damage. The study aims to experimentally investigate the flow regime, energy dissipation within the PSB, and the near-wall air concentration to ensure effective mitigation of cavitation damage downstream. The findings highlight the impact of the PSB on changing the jump type and relative local energy loss, influenced by the incoming Froude number, sill height, and sill length. Influenced by these factors, the variation in air concentration is crucial for reducing cavitation damage, necessitating potential adjustments in prototype applications to account for scale effects. Under such a pre-aeration approach, the air concentration along the downstream spillway warrants further investigation for the continuous optimization of the PSB's design and its integration with spillways.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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spelling doaj-art-027fbb79100c41149c73afb313c971242025-02-01T05:30:48ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01201e031819110.1371/journal.pone.0318191Hydraulic performance of a pre-aerated stilling basin: Experimental study.Yu ZhouTengzhi HuangKe XuJiakai MeiSiwei JiaQiaoni YuJinglin QianSpillway chutes are critical in dam flood control, particularly in high dams where high water heads and large discharge in narrow canyons amplify the demand for safe discharging. For large unit discharges in spillways, aeration protection is essential to prevent cavitation erosion, but challenges arise from air duct choking in the traditional spillway and nonaerated regions in the stepped spillway. This paper introduces a novel spillway called the pre-aerated stilling basin spillway (PSBS). The primary distinction between PSBS and conventional spillways lies in the placement of aeration facilities. Conventional spillways feature a curved transition section that directly connects to the spillway. In contrast, the PSBS is equipped with a WES crest weir and a vertical sill of the same width, which converts supercritical to subcritical flow. This process strongly entrains air through hydraulic jumps at spillway entrances, thereby preventing cavitation damage. The study aims to experimentally investigate the flow regime, energy dissipation within the PSB, and the near-wall air concentration to ensure effective mitigation of cavitation damage downstream. The findings highlight the impact of the PSB on changing the jump type and relative local energy loss, influenced by the incoming Froude number, sill height, and sill length. Influenced by these factors, the variation in air concentration is crucial for reducing cavitation damage, necessitating potential adjustments in prototype applications to account for scale effects. Under such a pre-aeration approach, the air concentration along the downstream spillway warrants further investigation for the continuous optimization of the PSB's design and its integration with spillways.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318191
spellingShingle Yu Zhou
Tengzhi Huang
Ke Xu
Jiakai Mei
Siwei Jia
Qiaoni Yu
Jinglin Qian
Hydraulic performance of a pre-aerated stilling basin: Experimental study.
PLoS ONE
title Hydraulic performance of a pre-aerated stilling basin: Experimental study.
title_full Hydraulic performance of a pre-aerated stilling basin: Experimental study.
title_fullStr Hydraulic performance of a pre-aerated stilling basin: Experimental study.
title_full_unstemmed Hydraulic performance of a pre-aerated stilling basin: Experimental study.
title_short Hydraulic performance of a pre-aerated stilling basin: Experimental study.
title_sort hydraulic performance of a pre aerated stilling basin experimental study
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318191
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AT tengzhihuang hydraulicperformanceofapreaeratedstillingbasinexperimentalstudy
AT kexu hydraulicperformanceofapreaeratedstillingbasinexperimentalstudy
AT jiakaimei hydraulicperformanceofapreaeratedstillingbasinexperimentalstudy
AT siweijia hydraulicperformanceofapreaeratedstillingbasinexperimentalstudy
AT qiaoniyu hydraulicperformanceofapreaeratedstillingbasinexperimentalstudy
AT jinglinqian hydraulicperformanceofapreaeratedstillingbasinexperimentalstudy