Spillway Design - Step by Step

Most dam accidents with hydroelectric plants are due to under-dimensioning of the maximum floods of spillway design, causing extravasation and dam breaks (this occurs in 23% of the accidents). This work highlights the relationship between spillway design and potential dam failure and other important aspects of these structures and presents the methodology of design based on the international experience on the subject.

The book covers river basin studies and floods (the geology, geomorphology, hydrology, hydraulics, and layouts of the works). Further, spillway function, capacity and design flood, layouts, or arrangements, of hydroelectric works and types of spillways are treated in the book. Finally, the book discusses examples of dams that broke due to insufficient spillway capacity.

The book is intended for engineers and the companies that design dams and power plants around the world, as well as students in dam and hydraulic engineering. In short, people interested in producing electricity that is clean and potentially cheaper than other sources.

Introduction; 2. Types of Spillways; 3. Spillway Design; 4. Hydrodynamic Pressure; 5. Energy Dissipation; 6. Pressure Forces Downstream of Dissipators; 7. Evaluation of the Scour; 8. Cavitation; 9. Gates and Valves; 10. Hydraulic Models; 11. Specific Constructive Aspects of Hydraulic Surfaces; 12. Bibliographic References.

Geraldo Magela Pereira (Civil Engineering, University of Brasilia, 1974; MSc Civil Defense, Fluminense Federal University, Niteroi, 2016) is hydraulic & geotechnical engineer, and served as coordinator of several hydropower projects. Covering hydropower plant lay-outs, construction planning, project management in all stages of studies and projects, inventory and feasibility studies, basic and executive designs, including hydraulic studies on models. In the last twenty years he worked in commercial areas developing offers for EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) of power plants.
He is author of three books in Portuguese: Power Plant Design – step by step, 2015; Design of Spillways – step by step, 2017; Accidents and Dam Breaks, 2018.