Beyond Boundaries: CFD Modeling for Innovative Spillway Design

ABSTRACT ONLY - Dam spillway rehabilitations consider conflicting sets of constraints including dam safety, permitting guidelines, site constraints, and client considerations. While the empirical relationships and formulae that typically guide spillway designs are built on physical models and routine testing, their applicable boundaries might fall short of a unique project. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling leverages numerical methods to calculate water moving through a three-dimensional mesh. CFD modeling can be used in various aspects and phases of a design project such as validating predicted and calculated values, testing design guidelines beyond standard bounds, and simulating unique scenarios. This presentation covers multiple applications of CFD modeling to a novel dam rehabilitation. CFD modeling was utilized to validate the rating curve of a labyrinth weir, evaluate the effects of tailwater in a side channel spillway on a labyrinth weir and Fusegate system, and simulate the approach losses to multiple spillway orientations. Multiple iterations of the CFD model were created to efficiently simulate the various aspects of the spillway. Design changes informed by these simulations were then incorporated into a final, comprehensive model of the spillway and surrounding terrain. Overall, CFD modeling was an efficient method to model multiple iterations of unique spillway designs saving considerable time, effort, and budget.