TECHNICAL PAPER

Hydraulics of stepped spillways

with different numbers of steps

Dams and Reservoirs

2010 20, No. 3, 131136
DOI: 10.1680/dare.2010.
20.3.131

R. Roshan
MSc

This paper describes the study of two physical models that were
built to investigate the energy dissipation and flow regimes for
different discharges over stepped spillways with different numbers
of steps. These physical models had a general slope of 19?2% and
had 12 and 23 steps respectively. Experiments were carried out for
a wide range of discharges. The hydraulic parameters of the flow
over the models were measured and the energy dissipation of flow
was also calculated. Results showed that the 12-step model
dissipated more energy than the 23-step model. However, the flow
regimes that occurred in the 23-step model were considered more
acceptable than in the 12-step model. The experiments showed
that energy dissipation at lower flow rates were similar in both
cases. However, in the skimming flow regime at higher discharges,
energy dissipation was about 12% less in the 23-step model than in
the 12-step model.

Hydraulic Structures
Division, Water Research
Institute, Tehran, Iran

H. Md.
Azamathulla
ME, PhD

River Engineering and

Urban Drainage
Research Centre
(REDAC), Penang,
Malaysia

M. Marosi
MSc

Shahid Chamran
University of Ahvaz,
Ahvaz, Iran

H. Sarkardeh
MSc

Hydraulic Structures
Division, Water Research
Institute, Tehran, Iran

H. Pahlavan
MSc

Shahrood University of
Technology, Shahrood,
Iran

A. Ab Ghani

Introduction
Stepped spillways, in which a series of steps are built
into the sloping floor of the spillway, can be used to
convey flood flows at dams, dissipating some of the
energy of the flow as it passes over the steps.
Depending upon the flow rate for a given stepped
spillway geometry, the flow over a stepped spillway may
be divided into three distinct flow regimes nappe,
transition and skimming flow in the order of
increasing flow rates.1 Nappe flow is observed for a
small dimensionless discharge dc/h (where dc is the
critical flow depth and h is the step height) and is
characterised by a succession of free-falling nappes at
each step edge, followed by nappe impact on the
downstream step. The skimming flow regime is
observed for the largest discharges; the water skims
over the pseudo-bottom formed by the step edges as a
coherent stream. Beneath the pseudo-bottom, intense
recirculation vortices fill the cavities between all step
edges.2 These recirculation eddies are maintained by
the transmission of shear stress from the main stream
flow and contribute significantly to the energy
dissipation. Gonzalez1 observed air cavities of different
size, alternating with fluid-filled recirculation vortices,
between step edges below the main stream of the flow.
In the recent past, much research on stepped spillways
has been carried out on different hydraulic parameters
such as flow regimes, inception of air entrainment, air
concentration, velocity distributions and energy

dissipation (examples being Gonzalez,1 Barani et al.3

and Meireles and Matos4).
Experiments on a moderately sized stepped spillway by
Christodoulou5 indicated that the energy loss owing to
the steps depended primarily on dc/h as well as on N
(the number of steps). For values of dc/h near unity, or
near the limit of skimming flow, the stepped surface
was very effective in dissipating energy. For higher
values of dc/h, the effect of N became appreciable at a
certain dc/h, which indicated that the relative energy
loss increased with N.

MSc, PhD

River Engineering and

Urban Drainage
Research Centre
(REDAC), Penang,
Malaysia

Pegram et al.6 studied two different physical models of

stepped spillways of slope 60% with the same crest shape,
30 m height and a range of step sizes (0?25 to 2?0 m in a
1:10 scale model and 0?5 to 2?0 m in a 1:20 scale model).
They showed that the residual specific energy was
independent of the step sizes. But this energy at the toe of
a stepped spillway of height 50 m (or higher), within the
range of step heights tested, was less than 60% of the
residual specific energy at the same level on a similar
smooth spillway experiencing flows up to 20 m3/m2.
In the present study, two sets of experiments were
carried out using physical models. In the first set,
experiments were performed to investigate the effects
of different discharges and numbers of steps on the
flow regimes at stepped spillways. In the second set,
energy dissipation on the same flow and geometry

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ROSHAN ET AL.

Spillway axis

Figure 1. Views of the physical models

1957.50

2
1953.50

1951.50

1
1

Figure 2. A schematic view of ogee spillway of the model

Table 1. Flow regimes of 12-step and 23-step models

qm : m3/m2

dc: m

12-step

23-step

0?026

0?041

NA

TRA

0?034

0?049

NA

TRA

0?045

0?059

TRA

TRA-SK

0?052

0?065

TRA

TRA-SK

0?069

0?078

TRA

SK

0?086
0?095

0?091
0?097

TRA
TRA-SK

SK
SK

0?103

0?103

TRA-SK

SK

0?120

0?114

TRA-SK

SK

0?138

0?125

SK

SK

0?155

0?135

SK

SK

0?172

0?144

SK

SK

0?181

0?149

SK

SK

The types of flow regimes in Table 1 are: NA 5 nappe flow, TRA 5 transition flow, SK 5 skimming flow and TRA-SK 5 transition
to skimming flow.

conditions was measured to assess the effect of the

number of steps and of the different step heights.

toe elevation of this dam was 1941?9 m, crest elevation

1953?5 m, width of the spillway was 65 m, the maximum
flow per unit width of the spillway (q) was 16?15 m3/m2
Experimental set-up
and the maximum flow passing over the spillway (Q)
was 1050 m3/s. The scale of this physical model was
The physical model of the Khansar Dam and Spillway
selected as 1:20. The vertical height of the model
(Yazd-Iran) was built in the hydraulic structures
(difference between crest and toe elevations) was
laboratory of Irans Water Research Institute (WRI) to
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m. The maximum flow in the modelled spillway
study the spillways energy losses
and flow
regimes. The
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Dams and Reservoirs 2010 20, No. 3, 131136

HYDRAULICS OF STEPPED SPILLWAYS WITH DIFFERENT NUMBERS OF STEPS

2.5
Upper limit of transition flow7
Lower limit of transition flow7
12-step: upper limit
23-step: upper limit
12-step: lower limit

2.0

dc/h

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.4

0.2

0.6

h/l

Figure 3. Flow observations in comparison with Chanson and Toombes7 equations

Step 1
Step 2
Step 3

Solid flow
Nappe flow

Figure 4. Nappe flow at low flow rates

Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6

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ROSHAN ET AL.

Figure 6. Strong spray and splashing in transition flows

Figure 7. Strong hydrodynamic fluctuations downstream of the inception point

was 0?118 m3/s. The general slope of the model was

19?2%. A rectangular weir, which was installed in the
canal at the downstream end of the model, was used to
measure the flow rate passing the stepped spillway. A
water gauge with 0?1 mm accuracy was used to measure
the depths of flow at the upstream and downstream
ends of the model.
To evaluate the effect of the number of steps, two cases
with 12 and 23 steps were built (by fixing the other
parameters of the Khansar dam model). These two
laboratory cases with the same slope were made of
PerspexR and the step properties were as follows:
length 5 33?7 cm, height 5 6?5 cm for 12-step case and

134

length 5 16?8 cm, height 5 3?25 cm for 23-step case

(Figures 1 and 2).

Experimental results
Flow regime observation
On the stepped spillway, the nappe and transition flow
regimes were observed for the low range of water
discharges and skimming flow regime occurred for the
upper range of water discharges. In the 12-step case, for
water discharges less than 0?138 m3/m2, nappe or
transition flows was observed and skimming flow was
observed for discharges of 0?138 m3/m2 and larger. In
the 23-step case, the limit between skimming and
transition flows was 0?069 m3/m2 (Table 1).

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HYDRAULICS OF STEPPED SPILLWAYS WITH DIFFERENT NUMBERS OF STEPS

Figure 8. Air entrainment in transition flows

Chanson and Toombes7 presented two equations which

showed the lower and upper limits of transition flows.
In this part, experimental observations using the same
definitions of nappe, transition and skimming flows are
plotted in Figure 3. For the lower limit this equation is
1

dc
w0:9174{0:381
h

h
l


h
0v v1:7
l

and for the upper limit is

2

dc
0:9821
v
:
h h=lz0:3880 384



h
0v v1:5
l

there was a rather higher threshold for the boundary

between transition flow and skimming flow, at between
1?75 and 1?92 in the 12-step model and between 2?0
and 2?4 in the 24-step model.
Experimental observations of flow regime for the 12step case showed that, for discharges less than 0?045
m3/m2, water cascaded down the spillway as a
succession of free-falling nappes from one step to
another (Figure 4). Flow visualisations permitted clear
and precise views of the intense recirculation taking
place in the cavities between step edges for both
transition and skimming flow regimes. Skimming and
transition flows have distinct appearances. In skimming
flows, the water skimmed smoothly over the pseudobottom formed by the steps (Figure 5).

where l is the step length. Equations 1 and 2 are plotted

in Figure 3. The measured data of changes in flow
In transition flows, the water exhibited a chaotic
regimes showed good agreement with the findings of
behaviour associated with the intensive recirculation in
Chanson and Toombes7 for the threshold between
cavities, strong spray and splashing (Figure 6).
nappe flow and transition flow, at a dc/h value of
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of the inception
point, splashing and spray
between 0?75 and 0?91 in the 12-step model. However,
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ROSHAN ET AL.

100
90

Energy dissipation: %

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
23-step model

10
0
0

12-step model

NA

0.10

0.05

TRA

TRA-SK

0.15

SK

0.20

.
q/(gdc)0 5P

Figure 9. Energy dissipation for the 12-step and 23-step models

were observed next to the free surface with water

droplets that jump out of the flume (Figure 7).
Free-surface aeration was very intense in all transition
flow rates downstream of the inception point of freesurface aeration; rapid free-surface aeration was
observed. The location of the inception of free-surface
aeration was clearly defined (Figure 8).
Energy dissipation
To determine the energy dissipation from upstream to
downstream, experiments with different flow rates and
numbers of steps (two cases) were carried out. By
measuring the hydraulic characteristics of flow upstream
and downstream of the model and based on the
Bernoulli equation, the total head losses in each case
were calculated. The percentage of dissipated energy in
each case was then determined and plotted (Figure 9).
As can be seen from Figure 9, generally, the energy
dissipation decreased with increasing dimensionless
discharge number in both models. This nondimensional
discharge parameter is defined by
p
q g h P , where P is the height of spillway from crest
to toe. Also, the 12-step case results in greater energy
dissipation than the 23-step case. Thus, it can be stated
that increasing the number of steps in a given height of
the spillway decreases energy dissipation, because of

the reduced step height. Moreover it should be noted

that flow regimes over a stepped spillway have a great
effect on energy dissipation. For example, a nappe flow
regime is more efficient for energy loss than a skimming
flow. This phenomenon could occur in lower
discharges or higher steps (in the present study, this
occurred in the 12-step case). Overall it could be
concluded from Figure 9 that the 12-step case
dissipated about 12% more energy than the 23-step
case.

Conclusions
In this research work, two different models were used
to show the effect of the number of steps on flow
regimes and energy dissipation over stepped spillways.
Experiments were conducted over a wide range of
discharges. By observing and measuring the hydraulic
parameters, the effect of the number of steps was
evaluated.
Flow regimes visualisation indicated that, in the 12-step
case, for water discharges less than 0?138 m3/m2, nappe
or transition flows were observed and skimming flows
occurred for discharges larger than 0?138 m3/m2. In the
23-step case, the limit between skimming and transition
flows was equal to 0?069 m3/m2. It is interesting to note
that the 12-step case had more effect on energy
dissipation than the 23-step case.

REFERENCES
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Engineering, University of Queensland, Australia, 2005.
2. CHAMANI M. R. and RAJARATNAM N. Characteristics of skimming flow over stepped spillways. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE,
1999, 125, No. 4, 361368.
3. BARANI G. A., RAHNAMA M. B. and SOHRABIPOOR N. Investigation of flow energy dissipation over different stepped spillways. Journal of
Applied Science, 2005, 2, No. 6, 11011105.
4. MEIRELES I. and MATOS J. Skimming flow in the nonaerated region of stepped spillways over embankment dams. Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, 2009, 135, No. 8, 685689.
5. CHRISTODOULOU C. Energy dissipation on stepped spillways. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 1993, 119, No. 5, 644650.
6. PEGRAM G. G. S., OFFICER A. K. and MOTTRAM, S. R. Hydraulics of skimming flow on modeled stepped spillways. Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering, 1999, 125, No. 5, 500510.
7. CHANSON H. and TOOMBES L. Hydraulics of stepped chutes: the transition flow. Journal of Hydraulic Research, 2004, 42, No. 1, 4354.

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