The overflow system of a dam safely controls the water level of a reservoir. The design of these structures should predict the damage caused by the action of the turbulent flow to which they are subject to. The combination formed by a stepped spillway followed by a stilling basin promotes a considerable portion of the energy dissipation in the actual chute of the stepped spillway but it is not sufficient to completely avoid the risk of damaging the basin. In this paper, we analyze the longitudinal distribution of extreme pressures in a stilling basin downstream of a stepped spillway. The study was based on the instant pressure data from the tests carried out in a physical model in the Laboratório de Obras Hidráulicas in IPH/UFRGS. Thus, it was found that the pressure behavior is similar to that observed in studies involving smooth chute spillways, except in the area surrounding the base of the stepped spillway, where high pressure fluctuations may occur. This happens as a result of the impact caused by the flow in the dissipation structure, which is not observed downstream of smooth chute spillways due to the existence of a vertical concordance curve between the spillway and the stilling basin.
Stilling basins are structures built at the base of the spillway to dissipate energy, by means of a hydraulic jump. Hydraulic jump is a turbulent phenomenon that causes large pressure fluctuation in the stilling basin bottom, and can damage the sink structure through mechanisms such as fatigue, upflit pressure and cavitation. The use of stepped spillways allows the dissipation of a parcel of the energy while the water falls by the spillway, allowing a reduction in the stilling basin's dimensions and cost. The present article presents the analysis of the longitudinal distribution of mean pressure, pressure fluctuations, skewness coefficient and kurtosis coefficient, derived from tests on physical hydraulic models. Pressure values measured in a stilling basin downstream of a stepped spillway (for Froude numbers between 5 and 8) were compared with data observed in a stilling basin downstream of a smooth spillway with a radius of concordance between the chute and the basin (for Froude numbers between 4.5 and 10). The results of these studies show that the mean pressures and the pressure fluctuation observed in the stilling basin downstream of stepped spillway present maximum values at the spillway's closest point, differing, thus, from those at the smooth spillway. The longitudinal distribution of skewness and kurtosis coefficients enabled to define the positions for flow detachment start, roller ending and as well as the ending of the influence of the hydraulic jump over the flow. Keywords:Stepped spillway; Stilling basin; Hydraulic jump. RESUMOA bacia de dissipação tem como finalidade dissipar, através de ressalto hidráulico, a energia do escoamento junto à base do vertedouro. Por ser um fenômeno turbulento que provoca amplas flutuações de pressão junto ao fundo da bacia, o ressalto hidráulico pode comprometer a estrutura do dissipador por mecanismos como fadiga, subpressão e cavitação. A utilização de vertedouros em degraus permite a dissipação de uma parte da energia ainda durante o escoamento da água pela calha, o que possibilita a redução das dimensões e do custo da estrutura da bacia de dissipação. O presente artigo apresenta a análise das distribuições longitudinais da pressão média, das flutuações de pressão e dos coeficientes de assimetria e curtose, oriundas de ensaios realizados em modelos físicos hidráulicos. Foi feita uma comparação das características das pressões obtidas em uma bacia de dissipação a jusante de um vertedouro em degraus (para números de Froude entre 5 e 8) com dados observados em uma bacia de dissipação a jusante de um vertedouro de calha lisa, com raio de concordância entre a calha e a bacia (para números de Froude compreendidos entre 4,5 e 10). A partir dessa análise pode-se concluir que, diferentemente do ocorrido na bacia de dissipação com calha lisa, as pressões médias e flutuações de pressão observadas na bacia de dissipação a jusante de calha em degraus tem seu máximo no ponto mais próximo ao pé do vertedouro. O desenvolvimento longitudinal dos coeficientes de assimetria...
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