University of the Philippines Diliman

INSTITUTE OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

CE 111: Hydraulic Engineering

Core Lecture 7
IV. Spillways, Gates, and Outlet Works
Part I

SPILLWAY DESIGN
Prepared by:

Assoc Prof. Cornelio Dizon

 Contents

• Dam Components
• Spillways
• Types of Spillways
• Spillway Design
 DAM COMPONENTS
• Necessary dam components which allow water and sediment to be discharged
downstream must be considered in the design of the dam.
• High flow components such as
spillways that allow floods to pass and
protect the dam from overflowing, and
sluiceways as a means of removing
sediments that accumulated in front
of the outlet works.
• Gates on the spillway crest, together
with sluiceways, permit the operator to
control the release of water
downstream for various purposes.
They provide additional storage in the
reservoir.
• Outlet works are usually pipes or tunnels, whose invert elevation is lower than the
spillway crest, allowing water to be drawn for useful purposes like hydropower
generation.
• Terminal structures provide energy dissipation of the flow to prevent erosion and scour
in the downstream stream bed. Energy dissipation devices, like stilling basins, jets, flip
buckets, and plunge pools, minimize scours at channels downstream of spillways,
sluiceways and outlet works.
 SPILLWAYS
• Spillways must have the capacity to discharge major floods without damage
to the dam or any component of the dam, at the same time keeping the
reservoir level below some predetermined maximum level.

• Safe spillways are extremely

important and cannot be
overemphasized. Many dam
failures have been caused by
improperly designed spillways or
by spillways of insufficient
capacity.

• Spillways must be hydraulically and structurally adequate. They must be

located to prevent the erosion and undermining of the downstream toe of a
dam.

• To determine the best combination of storage capacity and spillway capacity,

hydrologic and hydraulic design, cost, and environmental effects must be
considered.

• Spillways can be thought of as safety valves for dams.

 TYPE OF SPILLWAYS

• Spillways are typically classified according to features that pertain

to control, to the discharge channel, or some other features. They
are often referred to as controlled or uncontrolled spillways
depending on whether they are gated or ungated, respectively. The
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation classifies the spillways as:

➢ Ogee (Overflow) Spillways

➢ Free-Overfall Spillways (Straight Drop)
➢ Side Chanel Spillways
➢ Drop Inlet (shaft or morning glory) Spillways
➢ Spillway Chutes
➢ Baffle Apron Drop Spillways
➢ Culvert Spillways
➢ Siphon Spillways
• Only the design of ogee (overflow) spillways will be discussed in
this module, the other types of spillways are included in the
supplementary lecture on spillways.

How do spillways work ? (view video)

 Free-Overfall Spillways (Straight Drop)

Ogee (overflow) Spillways Side Chanel Spillways

Navajo Dam in New Mexico Hoover Dam

Drop Inlet (shaft or morning glory) Spillway Chute Spillway

Ataturk Dam in Turkey

Baffle Apron Drop Spillway Culvert Spillway for a Detention Basin

Spillway of San Roque Dam Spillway (Agno River Basin)

Oldman Dam Spillway (Southern Alberta)

 Spillway Design Capacity

• 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.
• 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.
• The probable maximum flood (PMF) is the flood discharge that is expected
from the most severe combination of meteorologic and hydrologic
conditions that are possible in a particular location. The PMF (Mays,
section 17.1) is commonly used for large dams while a smaller flood based
on frequency analysis is suitable for small and medium dams.
➢For small dams: 25 – 100-year return period
➢For medium dams without risk of life: 50-200-year return period
➢For big dams or with risk to life: PMF
 Spillway Discharge
• The discharge equation for the overflow spillway is the same as that of broad-
crested weirs,
3ൗ
𝑄= 𝐶𝐿𝐻𝑒 2 where Q=discharge
C= discharge coefficient
𝑉𝑎2 L=effective width of the crest
𝐻𝑒 = 𝐻 + He=total energy head
2𝑔
• When crest pier and abutment are shaped to cause side contractions,
similar to a contracted rectangular weir, the effective width of the crest L is
𝐿 = 𝐿′ − 𝑁𝑊𝑝 − 2 𝑁𝐾𝑝 + 𝐾𝑎 𝐻𝑒

where:
N = number of piers kR=0.05 Kp=0 Kp=0.01 Kp=0.02 KL=0.1
L’ = distance between abutments
Wp = width of pier
He = total energy head
Ka= loss coeff. for abutments
= 0.1 for square corner
= 0.05 for rounded corner
Kp = loss coefficient for bridge piers
= 0.02 for square-nosed piers L’
= 0.01 for semicircular-nosed piers
= 0 for pointed nosed piers
 Ogee (Overflow) Spillway

An ogee (overflow) spillway can be gated or ungated, and it normally provides

for flow over a gravity dam section. The flow remains in contact with the
spillways surface (except for possible aeration ramps) from the crest of the
dam to the vicinity of its base.
 Ogee (Overflow) Spillways
• Ogee spillways have a control weir that is S-shaped as shown in the figure.
• 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.
 Shape of Spillway
• The upper part of the ogee spillway conforms closely to the profile of the
lower nappe of a ventilated sheet falling from a sharp-crested weir .

• This shape results in a pressure distribution on the crest that is near

atmospheric for the design discharge.

• The shape of the ogee spillway can be divided into 3 parts

(1) the crest part, composed of two arcs before the crest and the ogee
equation after the crest,
(2) straight section chute (sloping face, designed as a steep channel)
(3) reverse curve (connecting the spillway to the stilling basin)
 USBR Design of Ogee Spillways
(Source: Mays)
• Crest shapes have been studied extensively by USBR over the years.

• The elements of a nappe-shaped are shown in the following figure. It

illustrates the suggested spillway shape for a vertical upstream wall.

• The values of K and n defining the portion downstream of the crest for
different approach velocity – design head ratios can be seen on Fig. 1
(Source: USBR).

• Ho is the design head (ho + ha) and ha is the approach velocity head.

• The shape equation for the portion downstream of the crest is

n
y  x  Where Ho is the design head and n and K are
= − K  
Ho  Ho  functions of ha/Ho as given in Fig. 2

• The values of Xc, Yc, R1, and R2 defining the nappe before the crest
can be determined from Figure 2.
Elements of Nappe-shaped Crest Profile (Source: Mays)
Figure 1. Values of K and n vs. ha/Ho (Source: USBR)
Figure 2. Factors (Xc, yc, R1, and R2 vs ha/Ho)
for nappe-shaped crest profiles (Source: USBR)
 Spillway Design Discharge
• The design discharge over the ogee spillway can be computed using the
same discharge equation for a broad-crested weir Q=CLHo3/2. The
discharge coefficient C is influenced by a number of factors:
(1) Initial value Co (USC units) - Depth of approach P/Ho (Figure 3)
(2) Actual Heads He different from design head Ho, He/Ho (Figure 4)
(3) Upstream face slope (Figure 5)
(4) Downstream apron interference (Figure 6)
(5) Downstream submergence (Figure 7)
Steps in determining the design discharge from a given design head Ho
(1) Determine the initial value Co from Figure 3. This value is for USC units
(Q in cfs). If S.I. units are used the value must be multiplied by 0.552.

Corrections for the value of Co must be made for the following conditions:
(2) Heads different from design heads He/Ho (Figure 4)
(3) Upstream face slope not vertical (Figure 5)
(4) Downstream apron interference (Figure 6) C=C0C1C2C3C4
(5) Downstream submergence (Figure 7)
Figure 3. Initial Discharge coefficient for vertical-faced ogee crest (Source:
USBR). For S.I. units, the factor 0.552 must be multiplied to Co. Q in m3/s and L and Ho in m
Figure 4. Discharge coefficients for other than the design head (USBR)
Figure 5. Discharge coefficients for ogee-shaped crest with
sloping upstream face (USBR)
Figure 6. Ratio of discharge coefficients resulting from apron effects (USBR)
Figure 7. Ratio of discharge coefficients caused by tailwater effects (USBR)
Determination of Afflux Elevation
for a Given Design Discharge

• The afflux elevation ho is the height

of the water surface from the crest
of the spillway.
• This is not the same as Ho, the
design head, since Ho is the total
head.
• The design head Ho = ho + ha.
• ha is the approach velocity head,
ha = va2/2g.
• If q is the discharge per unit width,
q =Q/L:
 Determination of Afflux Elevation
for a Given Design Discharge
Procedure for determining afflux elevation ho for a given design discharge
per unit spillway width q: assume Co = 1.8 (using S.I. units) or Co=3.3
(USC units)

1. Compute Ho from q=CoHo3/2

2. With known P/Ho , adjust Co using Fig. 3
3. If upstream face is not vertical, adjust Co for sloping face Fig. 5, that is, the new
Co will be for inclined face, Cinclined/Cvertical
4. Check for submergence of downstream condition
a. In analyzing an existing spillway, the elevation of the downstream apron d is
known. Use Fig. 6 with He=Ho (computed)
b. For design, the apron elevation is not yet certain or known. Use the tailwater
rating curve . For a given discharge, the value of the tailwater elevation can be
dermined. Use the tailwater elevation as apron elevation d and use Fig. 7 with
He=Ho
5. Using new (adjusted) Co and current Ho, compute q’=CoHo3/2
a. If absolute value of (q’-q) > 0.01, a new value of Ho is used. Increase Ho if
q’< q, and decrease Ho if q’ > q, then repeat step 2
b. If absolute value of (q’-q) < 0.01, Ho is the correct value
6. Compute ho= Ho – Va2/2g where Va=q/(P+ho)
7. Knowing ho and Ho, all other parameters of the ogee spillway can be determined.
Example 17.3.1 (Mays) Design an overflow ogee crest for a spillway to discharge
20,000 cfs. The upstream face of the crest is sloped 3:3 and a bridge is to span
the crest. Bridge piers 18 in. wide (pier contraction Kp=0.05) with rounded noses
are provided. The bridge spans (center to center of piers) are not to exceed
30 ft. The maximum expected head He=10 ft when the dam is operational.
Neglect approach velocity. The distance from the spillway crest to the reservoir
bottom of the dam is 18 ft. The abutment coefficient Ka=0.10. Your design
should be based upon the design head Ho being equal to to the maximum
expected head He. What will be the discharges for different operating heads of
upto 16 ft (increments of 2 ft) ?
Solution:
1. The design discharge is Q=20,000 cfs.

2. The design head is the maximum actual head during operations,

He=10 ft = Ho, He/Ho=1.0

3. The height of the dam is P = 18 ft., P/Ho=18/10=1.8

4. The initial coefficient of discharge Co from Fig. 3 for P/Ho=1.8, Co=3.925

This value is just the initial value, and corrections must be made. No need
to multiply it to 0.552 because we are using USC (English) units.

5. No correction from Fig. 4 because He/Ho=1.0 C/Co=1.0

6. Correction for upstream face must be made, since the slope of the upstream
face slope is 3:3 or 1:1, from Fig. 5 for P/Ho=1.8, slope 3:3,
Cinclined/Cvertical= 0.992

7. Applying all the corrections for the final coefficient of discharge,

C=(3.925)(1.0)(0.992)=3.894
8. To determine the required distance from left to right abutment
L’, the effective crest width L is computed using the weir formula,
𝑄 20,000
𝐿= 3ൗ = 3ൗ = 162.4𝑓𝑡.
𝐶𝐻𝑒 2 3.894(10 2)

The net width of the crest L’ (distance from left to right abutment), assuming
only N= 4 piers are used, W p = 18 in. = 1.5 ft., Ka = 0.10 , Kp = 0.05

kR=0.05 Kp=0 Kp=0.01 Kp=0.02 KL=0.1

𝐿 = 𝐿′ − 𝑁𝑊𝑝 − 2 𝑁𝐾𝑝 + 𝐾𝑎 𝐻0
If 4 piers are used, the distance between abutments L’ is,
𝐿 = 𝐿′ − 𝑁𝑊𝑝 − 2 𝑁𝐾𝑝 + 𝐾𝑎 𝐻𝑜
𝐿′ = 𝐿 + +𝑁𝑊𝑝 + 2 𝑁𝐾𝑝 + 𝐾𝑎 𝐻𝑜
𝐿′ = 162.4 + 4 1.5 + 2[4(0.05) + 0.1](10) = 174.4𝑓𝑡.
L’ is needed to make sure that the center to center between piers
(bridge span) will not exceed 30 ft which is a design requirement.
If there are 4 piers, there will be 4+1 spans between abutments,
bridge span=174.4/5= 34.88 ft which exceeds the design requirement

Using 5 piers, L’=162.4+5(1.5) + 2[5(0.05)+0.1](10)= 176.9 ft, bridge

span=176.9/6 spans = 29.48 ft (meets design requirement)

Completing the design: n

y  x 
9. The shape after the crest is computed using equation = − K  
Ho  Ho 
From Fig. 1 at ha = 0 (neglect approach velocity),
K=0.54 for ha/Ho=0 using 3:3 curve and n=1.78, Ho = 10 ft.
1.78
y  x 
= −0.54 
Ho  Ho 
10. Before the crest, the geometry at ha/Ho = 0 and upstream face
slope of 3:3

Using Fig. 2,

Xc/Ho = 0.20, Xc = 2 ft.

Yc/Ho = 0.45, Yc = 4.5 ft.
R1/Ho = 0.45, R1 = 4.5 ft.
R2/Ho = 0.45, R2 = 4.5 ft.
11. To compute the discharges from He=1 to 16 ft. A correction for C is made
using Fig. 4 for every value of He (elevation head only, approach velocity =0)
C C 
C =  (Co ) inclined 
 Co   Cvertical 

The effective crest width L=176.9-5(1.5)-2[(5)0.05+0.1]He= 169.4 -0.7He

The rating curve for the ogee spillway :

 REFERENCES

1. Linsley, Franzini, Freyberg, Tchobanoglous (1991), Water Resources

Engineering, 4th Ed., McGraw-Hill
2. Mays, L. (2011), Water Resources Engineering, 2nd Ed. John Wiley and
Sons
3. Practical Engineeering (2019), How do spillways work ? Accessed from:
[Link]
4. USBR (1987), Design of Small Dams, 3rd Ed., Water Resources
Technical Publication, US Department of Interior