Energy dissipation along stepped spillways

In the past years considerable research was done on stepped spillways. Investigations were conducted to understand the hydraulics on the stepped face of Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) dams and overlays for embankment dams. Significant energy losses occur along the stepped chute so that the energy dissipation structure, e.g. the stilling basin, becomes smaller and more economic. Therefore, energy losses and energy dissipation along the chute must be known. Experimental investigations were conducted at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW)of the Swiss Federal Institute ofTechnology (ETH), Zurich, using a hydraulic scale model. The analyzed data lead to a simple equation for estimating energy losses of stepped spillways.