3 Bottom Outlets

CE 458 Design of Hydraulic Structures
3. BOTTOM OUTLETS
3.1
Purpose of bottom outlet
Bottom outlet is the outlet structure with the lowest elevation which can serve for
various purposes:
 Filling of the reservoir

 Drawdown of the reservoir
 Flushing of sediments
 Discharging surplus water
A bottom outlet must be provided in every dam as a safety structure to control reservoir
level and for emergency operations.
3.2
 The load test of a dam is performed during the first filling of the reservoir.
 The filling must be made progressively by accounting for the stability and the
watertightness of both the dam and its surroundings at certain levels of the
reservoir.
 The load test procedure during the first filling is only amenable if a bottom outlet is
available.
 The bottom outlet must thus be designed that the reservoir level can be kept
constantly under arbitrary levels
3.3
Drawdown of reservoir
Qo
Fp
h
Qb
zo
 Qo is the reservoir approach flow corresponding to an average value over a certain

time period such as several weeks or even months.
 The choice of Qo depends on inflow hydrograph and reservoir storage

characteristics.
3.4
 Qb is the design discharge of the bottom outlet.
 The hydrostatic pressure force on the dam face is
Fp  Bh2 / 2
 A drawdown of the reservoir level is followed by a stress relief. Accordingly,

drawing down an endangered dam is highly efficient.
 Drawdown by the bottom outlet has to be fast
Qb > Qo
3.5
Design guidelines for emergency drawdown:
 Rapid drawdown of a reservoir within the shortest time lapse, the maximum Qb.
 The tailwater valley should not be damaged by Qb.
Qb < QL
where QL is the limit tailwater discharge.
 The drawdown should not cause shore slides.
Qb < (Qo + Qs)
where Qs is the allowable discharge for shore protection.
3.6
The allowable discharge Qs can be estimated from the limit drawdown velocity us
h
us  
t
and
Qs = us A
where A is the reservoir surface area.
The limit drawdown velocity is related to allowable pore water velocity of the
groundwater flow along the shores of the reservoir.
3.7
Acceptable bottom
outlet dimensions
h=h(Qb))
h
Solution
Qo+Qs
domain
Qb
Qo QL
Optimization of head-discharge relation for design discharge of bottom outlet.
3.8
 For flood conditions, the approach discharge Qo is large and the limit discharge QL
is small. Then, domain of solution shrinks, and can even vanish.
 During flood periods, a drawdown is thus impossible.
 Usually, one would choose average discharge conditions for the design.
 The drawdown time is an important parameter. Under emergency, one would like
to draw down the top layers of the reservoir only, in a few days or weeks.
 Bottom outlet is not a structure for permanent use due to limitations regarding
cavitation, hydrodynamic forces, abrasion and vibrations. It should, however, allow
a complete emptying of the reservoir when necessary.
3.9
Flushing of sediments
 In certain cases, bottom outlets are used for sediment flushing.
 Continuity of the sediment transport is important. If it deposits in the tailwater the

bottom outlet may be submerged and thus endangered.
 The ratio between water and sediment has to be such that it corresponds to the
transport capacity of the tailwater.
3.10
Flood and residual discharge
 Combined use of overflow spillway and the bottom outlet may be allowed for flood
conditions.
 For this purpose multiple bottom outlets may be constructed.
 A bottom outlet designed according to previous criteria is normally too large to fit
for the control of residual discharge.
 It had to be operated permanently with an extremely small opening not suited

hydraulically. Therefore, a small outlet is often added to satisfy the needs for
residual discharge.
3.11
Design Principles
A useful design is the combination of diversion tunnel and bottom outlet.
Karakaya dam: 1 Intake structure, 2 Diversion tunnels,

3 Bottom outlet chambers, 4 Upstream cofferdam,
5 Service building, 6 Outlet works, 7 Powerhouse.
3.12
For smaller dams, a culvert type bottom outlet may also be considered because of the
simple design.
Possible arrangements for the bottom outlet
a) Diversion tunnel used as bottom outlet, with access through a shaft.
3.13
b) Bottom outlet culvert, not accessible except for minimum reservoir level, with two
gates close to the inlet.
3.14
c) Diversion tunnel used as combined spillway and bottom outlet for morning glory
spillways.
3.15
d) Gravity dam with bottom outlet that is much shorter than for an earth dam.
3.16
Technical requirements for a bottom outlet
 Smooth flow for completely opened structure.
 Excellent performance for all flows under partial openings.
 Effective energy dissipation at terminal outlets.
 Structure without leakage.
 Simple and immediate application.
 Easy access for maintenance and service.
 Economic and useful design.
 Long life.
3.17
Hydraulic requirements for a bottom outlet
 Pressurized flow upstream of the gate.

 Free surface flow downstream of the gate.
 A trash rack is provided at the inlet.
3.18
 The tunnel often has a horseshoe profile.
 The tunnel section contracts to a rectangular cross-section shortly before the gate
chamber.
 Downstream from the gate chamber, the tunnel is expanded both laterally and at
the tunnel ceiling.
 For long tunnels an aeration conduit behind the gate chamber may be required.
 The air supply conduit has to be designed so that the gate chamber is safe against
submergence from the tunnel.
 It is imperative that submergence of the bottom outlet is inhibited. The discharge is

then fully controlled with the gates.
 Submergence will cause the mechanical equipment be wetted in the gate section.
3.19
Hydraulic phenomena that must be considered in the design of bottom outlet
 Average velocity at the bottom outlet is large.
 Cavitation
 Abrasion
 Aerated flow
 Sediment flow due to reservoir sedimentation
 Floating debris or sediment deposition
 Gate vibration
3.20
Air entrainment
 Free gate outflow reduces the potential of gate vibration and cavitation.
 A bottom outlet should always be designed for free surface flow.
 Aeration of flow just after the gate is required for rapid energy dissipation and to
reduce the risk of cavitation.
 The aeration of flow may originate from three different sources
3.21
1) Tunnel outlet in a counter-current air flow along the outlet roof.
2) Air supply conduit by which the underpressure of the surface air is reduced.
3) Bottom aerator that counter problems with cavitation damage.
3.22
 Flow types (without bottom aerator)
a) Spray flow for relative gate

opening below 10%, with an
extremely high air entrainment.
b) Free flow as typical for bottom

outlets, and accompanied by features
of supercritical flow, such as shock
waves and two-phase flow.
.
3.23
c) Foamy flow for a tunnel almost

full with air-water flow.
d) Hydraulic jump with a free

surface tailwater flow due to
tailwater submergence.
3.24
e) Hydraulic jump with transition to

pressurized tailwater flow.
f) Fully pressurized flow caused by a

deep tailwater submergence.
 In applications, cases e and f should be avoided because of possibility of

dangerous surging in the channel.
3.25
Gate Controlled Discharge
Qa
a0
a Q Cca
Gate flow may be either free or submerged. For free gate flow, the space behind the
gate is filled with air of pressure head ha. If the efflux is into the atmosphere, ha=0.
3.26
Based on energy considerations, the underflow discharge of a gate is given by
Q  C c ab 2g (H  h e  C c a  h a )
1/ 2
where
Cc is the contraction coefficient,

a the gate opeing,
b the gate width, and
H-Δhe the head on the gate with Δhe the head loss from the entrance to the
gate section.
The contraction coefficient is dependent on the gate geometry and opening.
For quick calculations of flow rate as function of gate opening one can assume:
Cc  0.8  0.2(a / a0 )4
3.27
Cavitation
 Cavitation is defined as formation of bubble or void in a liquid.
 Cavitation occurs by decreasing the local pressure under constant temperature.
 The local pressure reduction in a fluid flow can be caused by:
 a decrease of total energy head because of increase in elevation,
 a local increase of velocity and
 turbulence, vortices or large scale separation.
3.28
The water flowing in hydraulic structures contains air bubbles of various sizes and with
numerous impurities. These conditions are necessary to initiate cavitation.
The hydrodynamic parameter describing the cavitation process is cavitation index
p  pv h  hv
 
V02 / 2 V02 / 2g
where
p is local pressure,
pv is vapor pressure and
V0 is the reference velocity typically of the upstream flow.
3.29
20
15
pv (kPa)
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
o
Temperature ( C)
Vapor pressure for water
3.30
Example: a sudden into-the-flow offset
 > 1.8 : no cavitation

 = 1.8 : Incipient cavitation where
cavitation bubbles occasionally can be
observed.
0.3 <  < 1.8 : Developed cavitation  < 0.3 : Supercavitation
3.31
If cavitation occurs close to flow boundaries, then cavitation damage may happen, and
the structure can seriously be damaged.
Offset into-the-flow Offset away from-the-flow
Groves Protruding joints
Isolated roughness elements causing cavitation
3.32
Incipient cavitation for into-the-flow offset.
3.33
Incipient cavitation index for chamfered offset.
3.34
Control of cavitation
Cavitation damage can be controlled by two methods:
 Control of cavitation index by geometry
 Control of cavitation damage by aeration
3.35
Steps in cavitation control
 Prediction of water surface profiles.
 Determination of pressure head curves.
 Computation of cavitation index curves.
 If there are locations where cavitation is predicted, then the geometry of the
structure or smoothness of the boundary has to be improved.
 If both approaches fail, the flow has to be aerated.
 Capacity of a structure with an aerated flow has to be larger because of the

increase of air-water discharge.
3.36

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CE 458 Design of Hydraulic Structures

Purpose of bottom outlet

 Filling of the reservoir

 Qo is the reservoir approach flow corresponding to an average value over a certain

 The choice of Qo depends on inflow hydrograph and reservoir storage

 Qb is the design discharge of the bottom outlet.

 The hydrostatic pressure force on the dam face is

 A drawdown of the reservoir level is followed by a stress relief. Accordingly,

 Drawdown by the bottom outlet has to be fast

Design guidelines for emergency drawdown:

 The tailwater valley should not be damaged by Qb.

where QL is the limit tailwater discharge.

 The drawdown should not cause shore slides.

Qb < (Qo + Qs)

where Qs is the allowable discharge for shore protection.

where A is the reservoir surface area.

Optimization of head-discharge relation for design discharge of bottom outlet.

 During flood periods, a drawdown is thus impossible.

 In certain cases, bottom outlets are used for sediment flushing.

 Continuity of the sediment transport is important. If it deposits in the tailwater the

Flood and residual discharge

 For this purpose multiple bottom outlets may be constructed.

 It had to be operated permanently with an extremely small opening not suited

A useful design is the combination of diversion tunnel and bottom outlet.

Karakaya dam: 1 Intake structure, 2 Diversion tunnels,

Possible arrangements for the bottom outlet

a) Diversion tunnel used as bottom outlet, with access through a shaft.

Technical requirements for a bottom outlet

 Smooth flow for completely opened structure.

 Excellent performance for all flows under partial openings.

 Effective energy dissipation at terminal outlets.

 Structure without leakage.

 Simple and immediate application.

 Easy access for maintenance and service.

 Economic and useful design.

Hydraulic requirements for a bottom outlet

 Pressurized flow upstream of the gate.

 The tunnel often has a horseshoe profile.

 It is imperative that submergence of the bottom outlet is inhibited. The discharge is

Hydraulic phenomena that must be considered in the design of bottom outlet

 Average velocity at the bottom outlet is large.

 Sediment flow due to reservoir sedimentation

 Floating debris or sediment deposition

 A bottom outlet should always be designed for free surface flow.

 The aeration of flow may originate from three different sources

1) Tunnel outlet in a counter-current air flow along the outlet roof.

3) Bottom aerator that counter problems with cavitation damage.

 Flow types (without bottom aerator)

a) Spray flow for relative gate

b) Free flow as typical for bottom

c) Foamy flow for a tunnel almost

d) Hydraulic jump with a free

e) Hydraulic jump with transition to

f) Fully pressurized flow caused by a

 In applications, cases e and f should be avoided because of possibility of

Gate Controlled Discharge

Based on energy considerations, the underflow discharge of a gate is given by

Cc is the contraction coefficient,

The contraction coefficient is dependent on the gate geometry and opening.