Improving Performance of Side Weirs Using Groups of Vane Plates or Piles

Weirs are among the most common hydraulic structures that have been used for centuries by hydraulic engineers for flow measurement, energy dissipation, flow diversion, regulation of flow depth, and flood passage. Side weirs, or lateral weirs, are essentially free overflow weirs installed along the side of the main channel to divert flow over them when the surface of flow in the channel rises above their crest. These weirs are often used in irrigation and flood regulation systems, urban drainage, and many other water resources and environmental projects. The flow over side weirs falls under the category of spatially varied flow. In this paper, methods are presented based on analytical and experimental models for improving side weir performance. For this purpose, groups of (one, two, and three) vane plates or piles were employed. Analytical models were developed based on momentum and continuity equations for determination of dynamic force on vane plates or piles, water surface profile and discharge coefficient of side weir. Measured data were used for calibrating the analytical models and for presenting expressions for the discharge coefficient. Results show that the diverted discharge coefficient can be increased by up to 30% compared to the simple side weir discharge coefficient.