Dissipation efficiency of stepped spillways

This study on hydraulic structures used for dissipating energy downstream from dams offers interesting suggestions for applied research aiming to improve hydraulic efficiency and constrain construction costs without neglecting environmental aspects. Extensive experimental tests have been carried out in the laboratory of Dipartimento di Ingegneria delle Acque at Bari Polytechnic. Three different geometric configurations were analysed, each characterised by a constant step number and step height, but with different chute slopes. The experimental study focused on two aspects of physical interpretation of the phenomenon: the first concerned with the definition of the flow conditions, as defined by the device geometry and the flow dynamics, and the second with the evaluation of the rate of energy dissipation. The results seem to confirm the notorious difficulties in understanding the problem, even if the experimental data show the same trend as those obtained by other researchers.