Design of uncontrolled ogee crest spillway

with a terminal energy dissipater

- Based on the Design Guideline - USBR Design of Small Dams, 1987

This note consists

of figures and text
taken from the
Design of Small
Dams USBR, 1987
and Hydraulic
Design of Stilling
Basins and Energy
Dissipaters, USBR
EM25, 1984
1
Elements of ogee shaped (Nappe-
shaped) crest profiles

Source: USBR Design of Small

Dams, 1987) 2
Development of high velocities as the flow
escapes from the spillway crest

3
Design Equations

Discharge
over an
uncontrolled
ogee crest

Pier and
abutment
effects in
contracting
the ogee
overflow
4
Discharge
Coefficients
Applicable only for
Imperial units

Source: USBR Design of Small

5
Dams, 1987)
Discharge
Coefficients

-Effect of
different
operating heads

-Effect of
sloping
upstream face

Source: USBR Design of Small

6
Dams, 1987)
Discharge
Coefficients

-Effect of
downstream
influences

Low High
Flow Flow
Depths Depths
Low
High
apron
apron
Source: USBR levels
levels
Design of
Small Dams,
7
1987)
Discharge
Coefficients

-Apron effects

Source: USBR Design of Small

8
Dams, 1987)
Discharge
Coefficients

-Tail water
effects

Source: USBR Design of Small

9
Dams, 1987)
Pier
contraction
coefficient Kp

Source: USBR Design of Small

10
Dams, 1987)
Abutment
contraction
coefficient Ka

Source: USBR Design of Small

11
Dams, 1987)
Ogee shape crest profile
n
y  x 
  K   , Xc, Yc , R1 , R2
H0  H0 

Source: USBR Design of Small

12
Dams, 1987)
Factors for definition of Ogee crest shape

Source: USBR Design of Small

13
Dams, 1987)
Factors for definition of
Ogee crest shape
Xc/H0

Yc/H0

R/H0

Source: USBR Design of Small

14
Dams, 1987)
Ogee crest shape defined
by compound curves

Source: USBR Design of Small

15
Dams, 1987)
When the operating head (He) is higher than the design head (H0)
sub-atmospheric pressures can be built up at the spillway crest

Source: USBR Design of Small

16
Dams, 1987)
Gate controlled ogee
crest discharge

Shape of the ogee

crest can be
designed by using
the same set of
equations and USBR
design charts used in
the design of an
uncontrolled ogee
crest spillway.

Source: USBR Design of Small

17
Dams, 1987)
When the gate opening is small, sub-atmospheric pressures can be
built up at the spillway crest

Source: USBR Design of Small

18
Dams, 1987)
Design of terminal
structures – Stilling basins

19
Design of terminal
structures – Stilling basins

Fr1 < 2.5 Use USBR Basin Type I or only a

basin area long enough to contain the
weak jump.
4 <Fr1 <14 Use USBR Basin Type II
(generally for jumps with high velocities)
4.5 <Fr1 <17 Use USBR Basin Type III and
maximum velocity < 60 ft/s. When max
velocity exceeds 60 ft/s use Type II
2.5 <Fr1 <4.5 Use USBR Basin Type IV
Source: USBR Design of Small
20
Dams, 1987)
Stilling basin TYPE I

Source: Hydraulic Design of Stilling Basins

and Energy Dissipaters, USBR EM25, 1984

Source: USBR Design of Small

21
Dams, 1987)
Stilling basin TYPE I

22
Stilling basin TYPE I

Source: Hydraulic Design of Stilling Basins

and Energy Dissipaters, USBR EM25, 231984
Design Assignment 1
Design an uncontrolled ogee spillway and a terminal energy dissipater (USBR Type I) for a
reservoir with a low level embankment dam. There will be a bridge over the spillway crest for
which the piers should be included to limit the length of the bridge beams to 14m or less.

Design Discharge = 350 + the last two numbers in your index number m3/s
Reservoir bottom level at spillway = 195 m MSL
Spillway crest level = 200 m MSL
Spillway design water level = 204 m MSL

Approach velocity head is 1% of the design head.

Design head (H0) is equal to the maximum expected head (He)

Take the river bed slope as 0.001 and the Manning’s roughness factor at the energy dissipater
as 0.025. Length of the energy dissipater should be at least two times longer than the length
of the hydraulic jump. Rating curve of the downstream river is given. Refer USBR design charts
for detailing.

Design, the spillway crest length, pier arrangement, ogee shape,

length of energy dissipater and the apron level.

Do the design in the class and submit it before you leave! 24

Design of terminal
structures –
Deflector Buckets

Deflector Buckets

25
Source: USBR Design of Small Dams, 1987)
Hydraulics of
solid and slotted
buckets

Ref PP 400-402, Design of

Small Dams, USBR, 1987
for the design procedure

Source: Design of small dams,, USBR 1987

26
 Spillway Design Examples –Victoria
and Kalawewa
Design Inflow Flood hydrograph

Developed from probable maximum precipitation

(PMP) or storms with certain frequency of
occurrence (can even exceed 10,000 years!)
- if life loss is unavoidable use PMP (to make sure
that the failure probability is extremely low)

- if failure can be tolerated use a storm with a

predetermined return period (based on the
engineering judgment and cost benefit analysis)
27
PMF inflow - outflow flood hydrographs for Victoria reservoir

28
Victoria spillway with its 8 counter weighted (Tainter) radial gates

29
 Spillway Design Data
• Reservoir storage - elevation curve
- storage volume vs. elevation
- developed from topographic maps
- requires reservoir operation rules for flood
routing modeling
• Spillway discharge rating curve
- should be calculated based on the type of
spillway to be used (weir equations etc may be
useful in preliminary calculations)

30
 Reservoir Capacity Curve
Eg: Elevation-Storage curve of Victoria reservoir at
443 spilling

442

441
Elevation mMSL

440

439

438

437
700 720 740 760 780 800 820 840 860
Storage mcm

31
 Spillway discharge rating curve
Eg: Elevation vs spillway discharge (per gate each12.5 m wide x 9m high) of Victoria
Reservoir
Dam
crest

FSL

SILL

32
Spillway should be able to pass the PMF
• Route the flood through the reservoir to
determine the required spillway size
S = (Qi – Qo) t
Qi determined from inflow hydrograph
Qo determined from outflow rating curve
S determined from storage rating curve
- This is a trial and error process and you may
use a software such as HEC HMS.

33
 90
PMP in Kalawewa
Kalawewa 80

70
Catchment of 674 km2
flood 60
=567 mm/24 hrs

Rainfall (mm)
50

40

attenuation 30

20

during PMF 10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Time (hrs)

7000

6000

5000
PMF into Kalawewa =6367 m3/s
Flow (m3/s)

4000

3000

2000

30 1000
25
0
20
Area (km2)

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48
15 Time (hrs)
10
3500

Kalawewa outflow during PMP

5
3000
0
118 120 122 124
Elevation (m MSL)
126 128 130
2500 =3045 m3/s
Flow (m3/s)

2000

1500

1000

500

0
0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 10834 120
Time (hrs)
Kalawewa Outlets

Type Structure Dimensions (m) Sill Level Remarks

(m MSL)
Radial Gated Spillway 6.1 (width) x 6.1 (height) 123.15 2 gates
Spillway Ungated Ogee Spillway 183.5 (crest length) 129.23
Breaching Section 152.4 (breach length) 131.37
Sluice 1.98 (width) x 1.83 (height) 121.92 3 gates
Yoda Ela Sluice 0.84 (width) x 0.61 (height) 118.87 3 gates
Sluice
Sluice 1.52 (width) x 1.52 (height) 121.92 2 gates
Gates
Kalawewa Yoda Ela 0.69 Diameter 120.09 2 pipes
Balaluwewa Yoda Ela 0.69 Diameter 121.62 2 pipes

35
 5 138 2500 138

Kalawewa

Reservoir Water Level

Reservoir Water Level
2000 133
4.5 133

Outflow (m3/s)
1500

Outflow (m3/s)
outflows

(m MSL)
(m MSL)
4 128 128
1000
3.5 123 500 123

during PMF 3
0 20 40 60 80 100
118 0
0 20 40 60 80 100
118

Time (hrs) Time (hrs)

Discharge of Kalawewa Yoda Ela Discharge of Ungated Spillway

35 138 5 138

Reservoir Water Level

Reservoir Water Level

30 133 4.5 133
4
Outflow (m3/s)

Outflow (m3/s)
(m MSL)

(m MSL)
25 128 128
3.5
20 123 123
3
15 118 2.5 118
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (hrs) Time (hrs)
Discharge of Left Bank Sluice Reservior Water Level Discharge of Balaluwewa Yoda Ela

10 138 800 138

Reservoir Water Level

700

Reservoir Water Level

9.5
133 600 133
9

Outflow (m3/s)
Outflow (m3/s)

500

(m MSL)

(m MSL)
8.5 128 128
400
8 300
123 123
7.5 200
7 118 100 118
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (hrs) Time (hrs)
Discharge of Yoda Ela Reservior Water Level Discharge of Radial Gated Spillway

80 138 250 138

Reservoir Water Level

Reservoir Water Level

200 133
70 133

Outflow (m3/s)
150
Outflow (m3/s)

(m MSL)

(m MSL)
60 128 128
100
50 123 50 123

40 118 0 118
0 20 40 60 80 100
0 20 40 60
Time (hrs)
80 100 Time (hrs) 36
Discharge of Right Bank Sluice Reservior Water Level Discharge of Dam Breach Section
 Example of spillways at Kalawewa

Chute spillway
The chute spillway is situated immediately to the left of the overflow spillway and consists of
a concrete gravity structure with two chutes, divided by a central dividing wall. The flow is
controlled by twin 6.1m square radial gates controlled by electrically powered winches and
cables set on a platform on the crest of the structure. Flow over the structure is projected
over a roller bucket into the original river channel. Weir crest level is 123.15m MSL

Uncontrolled spillway
The uncontrolled spillway comprises of a 183.5m long overflow weir. The weir crest level is
129.27m MSL.

Breach section
The overflow section, recently constructed is a 240m long section of the embankment on the
left flank with a crest level equal to 131.4m MSL, the maximum flood level. In an extreme
flood (frequency unspecified) the reservoir level could rise above the maximum flood level, in
which case the breach section would be preferentially eroded and the reservoir level lowered,
thus saving the main embankment.
37
Emergency dam break sections

38
Spillway Capacity vs. Surcharge
- Surcharge increases when the spillway capacity is
reduced

Gated crest at
lower elevation39
Spillway Cost Analysis

40