Numerical Study Of Overflow Capacity Of Spillways (With An Emphasis On Pk-Weirs)

In recent years, the importance of spillway or weir rehabilitation has increased and extensive studies have been performed in this area. A new type of labyrinth spillway, called Piano Key Weir (PK-Weir) is an effective solution for this problem. This is an excellent alternative for increasing the overflow capacity in spillways. The overflow capacity of spillways is specially related to geometrical characteristics. Currently, there is a lack of systematic theoretical analysis and experimental activities, and also, the existing data does not allow the proposition of a universal design procedure. The 3D numerical models are useful tools for such complex structures. This paper compares the overflow capacity of PK and other types of weirs that are applicable in a certain circumstance. For this purpose, the researchers are used a 3D numerical model, and only the experimental data for PK-weirs are used in evaluation procedure. The results showed that In a specific given head, the flow discharge of PK-weirs are greater than other types by several orders of magnitude.