Author(s): Bryan J. Heiner; Tony L. Wahl

Linked Author(s): Tony Wahl

Keywords: Spillways; Stepped Spillways; Cavitation; Self-aeration

Abstract: SpillwayPro is a spreadsheet-based tool developed by the Bureau of Reclamation to compute water surface profiles and assist with other design tasks for spillways and other steep channels that exceed the capabilities of tools such as HEC- RAS. Recent improvements include better aerated flow analysis and the capability to evaluate flow in stepped chutes. Reclamation is continuously requested to evaluate existing spillways for changing hydrologic conditions such as increasing the discharge capacity or maintaining spillway functionality with increased reservoir head. The software has recently been used to analyze potential spillway overlays, including the addition of steps to existing chutes to increase energy dissipation in the chute and avoid modifying the energy dissipation basin. This paper highlights the utility of SpillwayPro for spillway modifications by considering some of the recent requests Reclamation has faced. Where possible, comparisons to CFD or physical modeling are included.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000675921

Year: 2024