Energies, Vol. 12, Pages 4469: Energy Dissipation in Stepped Spillways with Different Horizontal Face Angles (Energies)

Energy dissipation is one of the most important factors in choosing stepped spillways. However, very few studies have investigated energy dissipation with different horizontal face angles. In this paper, the realizable k-ε turbulent model was used to study the flow field, energy dissipation rates and turbulent kinetic energy and its dissipation rate for different stepped spillways with five horizontal face angles in the skimming flow regions. Results showed that the field and direction of the flow were changed by the horizontal face angles of the stepped spillway, which produced some unique characteristics and thus caused better energy dissipation. The fluctuation of free water surface will be larger with increasing horizontal face angles and the energy dissipation rate decreases with an increasing unit discharge and increases for the enlargement of the horizontal face angles. This conclusion could provide a reference for the relevant research of V shaped stepped spillways.