Diversion works

Diversion structure : which may be

a weir or
a barrage

that raises the water level

of the river slightly, not for
creating storage, but for
allowing the water to get
diverted through a canal
situated at one or either of
its banks.
The diverted water passed
through the canal may be
used for irrigation, industry,
domestic water needs or
power generation.
 In general, weirs (with or without gates) (kaperderdhes), whereas barrages are always
gate controlled. This is because a weir, which is a raised hump-like structure across the
river usually associated with small shutters for flow control , may be suitable for very
small diversion works
Weirs are also used to divert
flash floods to the irrigated
areas or for ground water
recharging purposes.
They are also sometimes
used as flowmeasuring
structures.
 But for larger rivers with more flexibility on flow control, a barrage is desirable.
As may be observed from the figures, a barrage is actually a gated form of a weir.

Barrages (prite) generally include

canal regulators, low-level sluices
to maintain a proper approach
flow to the regulators, silt-
excluder tunnels to control silt
entry into the canal and fish
ladders for migratory fish
movements.
The table below lists the relative merits of each of the structure over the other.
 Site investigation and data collection
The site selection of a barrage depends mainly on the location and elevation of the
off-take canal, and a site must be selected where the river bed is comparatively
narrow and relatively stable.
The pondage requirement and interference with the existing structures such as
bridges, urban development, valuable farmland, etc., must be considered, as well as
available options to divert the flow during construction.
Investigations and the corresponding data are
generally collected in two stages: primary and
detailed.
The primary investigations include the following, which
are used to choose not one, but a couple of alternate
sites for the proposed barrage project within some
reasonable length along the river. A study of these
preliminary data would help to earmark one of the few
alternative sites.
 Site investigation and data collection

Study of available maps and satellite imageries

Regional and site geology
Study of foundation strata
Study of available hydrological data
Assessment of water needed for diversion
Effect of the barrage on environment and ecology
Limitations on water withdrawal
Availability of construction material
Communication to the site of work
Investigation
Once a particular site has been chosen from amongst a few plausible
options, a detailed investigation is carried out which would help in the
hydraulic and structural design aspects of the barrage and its
appurtenant structures.
If gauge and discharge observations are not available for the site
earmarked, it should be immediately started.
The following list mentions the detailed investigations that are to be
done in order to collect necessary data.
Survey
Detailed topographical survey
Hydro-meteorological data
Sediment concentration data
Pond survey
Study of navigation and fish
Study for power generation
Study for provision of a rail or a road bridge across the barrage
Cofferdams Cofferdams are temporary structures used to divert
water from an area where a permanent structure
has to be constructed.
They must be as watertight as practicable, relatively
cheap and, if possible, constructed of locally
available materials.
Diversion facilities such as
tunnels or canals, provided to
divert the flow from the site
area, are sometimes used as
part of the permanent facilities
(e.g. penstocks, spillways,
sluices, conveyances to
turbines, or discharge channels
from turbines, etc.).
Cofferdams
If the construction work proceeds in two stages, part of the structure
completed in the first stage may be used as a diversion facility (spillway
or sluice) during the second stage of construction
Barrage components
(a) Guide banks
Guide banks direct the main river flow as centrally as possible to the diversion structure.

They also safeguard the barrage from

erosion and may be designed so that a
desirable curvature is induced to the flow
for silt exclusion from the canals.
The side slopes of the guide banks must
be protected by stone pitching, with a
sufficient self-launching stone apron at
the lowest feasible level (Fig. 9.2). The
top levels of the guide banks will depend
on the maximum increase in the flood
level upstream of the barrage.
Guide banks
 Wing walls
Wing walls flanking the barrage and supporting the abutting earth bunds are designed as
retaining walls.

Cut-off walls (taken below the scour

levels) below the wings and abutment
walls at both sides, in addition to the
upstream and downstream sheetpile cut-
offs across the river, form an enclosed
compartment providing good weir
foundation conditions.
 Cut-off walls (taken below the scour levels) below the wings and abutment walls at both
sides, in addition to the upstream and downstream sheetpile cut-offs across the river,
form an enclosed compartment providing good weir foundation conditions.
Gates
Gates
Vertical lift and Tainter gates are most
frequently used to control the flow rate over the
crest (sill) of a barrage.

The discharge capacity of a gated crest depends on

the conditions of free or submerged flows below
the gate.
For completely raised gates: free flow and
submerged flow conditions should be referred to
correction factors.
Flow under gates
 Pier
Piers are provided between each bay.
The piers are constructed usually monolithic with
the floor (raft), and extend usually from the
upstream end to the downstream end solid floor
of the spillway (or under sluice/river sluices).
The piers have to be high enough to hold the gates
clear off the maximum flood level while making
ample allowance for passing any floating debris
under the raised gates.
 Regulators
The structures controlling diversion into a supply canal are
called regulators.
The design principles are the same as those used in the
design of barrages, except that the regulators are a smaller
version of barrages.
The entry sill of a regulator must be such that it permits
entry of the maximum flow at various pondage levels.
Another important consideration in designing the regulator
is silt exclusion from canals.
Silt-excluder tunnels are often provided in the barrage bays
adjacent to the regulator, so that the heavier silt-laden
bottom layers of water bypass through the tunnels.
 Dividing wall
The dividing wall is built at right angles to the axis of the weir, separating the weir and the undersluices.
It may be constructed with stone masonry or cement concrete. It usually extends upstream beyond the
beginning of the regulator and downstream to the launching apron (talus).

The downstream extension of the dividing

wall provides a barrier between the stilling
basin and scouring bay, in order to avoid
cross-currents.
A properly designed dividing wall can also
induce desirable curvature to the flow for
sediment exclusion from the canal-head
regulator.
The dividing wall may also serve as one of
the side walls of the fish ladders and be used
as a log chute.
Dividing wall

The function of the divide wall are:

To form a still water pocket in front of
the canal head so that the suspended
silt can be settled down which then later
can be cleared thought the scouring
sluices from time to time.
It controls the eddy current or cross
current in front of the canal head.
It provides a straight approach in front
of the canal head.
 It divides the river channel in two compartments.
In the smaller compartment, which is nearer to the head regulator, a still pond is created.

The obvious reason is this smaller

compartment is partially cut off from the main
river channel where wide fluctuations in the
water levels take place.
The still pond is created in front of the head
regulator.

Divide wall extends from the weir body to a little

beyond the length of the head regulator.
Generally divide wall is constructed with
masonry
The top width of the wall varies from 1.5 to 2 m.
The divide wall should always be founded on a strong
foundation.
Generally it is necessary to provide a well foundation for
at least 30 m. It is clear that the divide wall retains the
water on its both faces.
Of course on one side the water is still in the pocket.
Whereas on the other side there is river flow.
The divide wall should be designed after taking this
point in consideration.
 Still Pond System:

It is adopted at every headworks.

It is done by creating a pocket by
constructing a divide wall.
Pocket is closed from three sides, head
regulator being on one side, weir on the
other-side and divide wall on the third side.
Thus when the velocity of the water is
destroyed in the pocket, water drops down
its silt load and only clear water enters the
canal through opening in the head regulator.
Weir block
The weir block of the barrage is designed:
either as a gravity structure (c) (the entire uplift pressure due to seepage is
resisted by the weight of the floor) or
as a non-gravity structure (d) (the floor, relatively thinner, resists the uplift by
bending).
It may be of different forms, e.g.
a sloping weir with upstream and downstream glacis,
 a sloping weir with upstream and downstream glacis,
 a vertical drop weir,
 an ogee weir, or
 a labyrinth weir (zig-zag crest).
a labyrinth weir (zig-zag crest).
Jambor sill
 Stilling basin
The stilling basin is the most common form of energy dissipator converting the supercritical
flow from the spillway into subcritical flow compatible with the downstream river regime.
The straightforward and often best method of achieving this transition is through a
simple submerged jump formed in a rectangular cross-section stilling basin.
Stilling basin
 Although the stilling basin based purely on a simple hydraulic jump works well and
relatively efficiently, in certain conditions other types of basins may produce savings
in construction costs. Standard basins were developed with baffles, chute blocks and
special end sills. An example of a basin with chute and baffle blocks Type III which
can be used for velocities V<8.2ms-1 and q<18.6m2 s-1.

As this basin is shorter than others, the

temptation is to use it outside these limits;
however, the danger of cavitation damage in
these cases is substantial and great care
must be exercised in the design and
positioning of the blocks.
The plain and slotted roller bucket
dissipators require substantially higher
tailwater levels than conventional
hydraulic jump basins.
The sloping surface downstream of the weir crest (glacis) and its transition into the
stilling basin should be designed so that a hydraulic jump occurs on it over the full
range of discharges.
Protection works, such as cut-off piles, aprons and an inverted filter,
are provided both upstream and downstream of the impervious floor
of the weir block
 Cut-off
Cut-offs are barriers provided
below the floor of the barrage
both at the upstream and the
downstream ends.
They may be in the form of
concrete lungs or steel sheet-
piles.
The cut-offs extend from one
end of the barrage up to the
other end (on the other bank).
Cut-off (Sheet-pile)
The upstream and downstream cut-offs of a diversion structure may be steel sheet-
piles anchored to the barrage floor by means of R.C.C. caps, or may be built of
masonry or reinforced concrete.
The sheet pile cut-offs are to be designed as sheet pile retaining walls anchored at
the top.
They shall be designed to resist the worst combination of forces and movements
considering possible scour on the outer side, earth pressure and surcharge due to
floor loads on the inner side, differential hydrostatic pressure computed on the
basis of the percentage of pressure of seepage below floor etc.
The R.C.C. pile caps shall be designed to transmit the forces and moments acting on
the steel sheet piles to the barrage floor.
 The purpose of providing cutoff is:
During low-flow periods in rivers, when most of the gates are closed in order to maintain a pond
level, the differential pressure head between upstream and downstream may cause uplift of
river bed particles (Figure a).

A cutoff increases the

flow path and reduces
the uplift pressure,
ensuring stability to the
structure (Figure b)

During flood flows or some unnatural flow condition, when there is substantial scour of the downstream riverbed,
the cutoffs or sheet piles protect the undermining of the structures foundation (Figure 18).
Planning and layout
A barrage, by definition, is a weir structure fitted with gates to regulate the water
level in the pool behind in order to divert water through a canal meant for
irrigation, power generation, flow augmentation to another river, etc.
By following the general guidelines, the location and alignment of the barrage axis
and that of the canal headworks may be decided but the other details, like the
width of the barrage and headworks, levels of weir crests, lengths of weir floors,
river training works, pond level etc. have to be finalized based on the hydraulic
conditions and geologic characteristics of the river bed and banks of the site.
The planning part decides the various parameters necessary for designing the
structures.
Further, planning is also necessary for chalking out a construction program.
The major planning aspects are as follows:
Design flood
The diversion structure has to be designed in such a way that it may be able
to pass a high flood of sufficient magnitude (called the design flood) safely.
It is assumed that when the design flood passes the structure all the gates of
the structure are fully open and it acts like a weir across the river with only
the obstruction of the piers between the abutments.
The abutments are the end walls at two extremes of the structure and the
length in between the two is termed as the waterway.
Naturally, a high design flood would necessitate a longer waterway.
In general, a design flood of 1 in 50 years frequency has been recommended
for design of all items except free board for which a minimum of 500 year
frequency flood or the Standard Project Flood is recommended Hydraulic
Design of Barrages and Weirs guidelines, some of the barrages built in the
past have considered very high design floods.
Design flood
Though a high design flood may ensure safety of the structure against large floods, there is
a consequent adverse affect related to sediment deposition in the pool.
This results from the fact that since a design flood is expected to pass once in that many
years, with a full gate opening, the intervening years having lesser magnitude of floods
would see the gates of the barrage being operated to raise the pond level at the desired
elevation.
Naturally, this would result in a slower velocity in the pool and a consequent deposition of
suspended sediments. If sediment deposition continues for many consecutive years, they
tend to form large mounds, called shoals, within the pool, not far upstream from the
barrage bays.
This phenomena, can cause not only reduction in the pool volume but more importantly,
may cause obstruction to the free flow of the river that is approaching the barrage.
This results in what is called the washing of bays, with the flow through the bays directly
downstream of the shoals being reduced and the excess flow passed through the other
bays.
As a result, it causes inclination of the approaching flow to the barrage which may cause
other undesired phenomena. It has been observed that barrages with large shoal
formations just upstream have flow inclinations to the extent of 600 or more to a normal
through the barrage axis.
For small embankments designed (e.g. cofferdams for the diversion of rivers during
dam construction) for a limited life of L (years) the risk r of exceeding the design
flood of a return period T (years) can be computed as:
r = 1-(1-1/T)L
The selection of the design flood for these diversion works depends on the risk that
one is prepared to take. For example, a more conservative design flood has to be
considered for situations where overtopping during construction would have
disastrous results.
If overtopping is permitted, care must be taken to strengthen the top and the
downstream slope of the cofferdam to minimize erosion.
The overtopping flow must be spread over the longest possible length of the
cofferdam, thus reducing the concentration of flow.
The control of floating debris is another essential requirement in order to minimize
the clogging of diversion tunnels, especially during the high-flow season.
Afflux
Afflux
If the flood in the river is less than the design flood, then some of the gates would
be fully opened but the remaining opened to such an extent which would permit
the maintaining of the pond level.
However, when a design flood or a higher discharge through the barrage structure,
all the gates have to be opened.
Nevertheless, the structure would cause a rise in the water level on the upstream
compared to level in the downstream at the time of passage of a high flood (equal
to or more than the design flood) with all the gates open.
This rise in water level on the upstream is called afflux.
The amount of afflux will determine the top levels of the guide bunds and marginal
bunds, piers, flank walls etc.
Naturally a smaller waterway would result in larger afflux and vice versa.
Hence, reduction in water way may cause in lowering the cost of the barrage
structure but may result in higher afflux and a resulting larger height of bunds and
piers.
Free Board
Once the permissible afflux is decided, the necessary water way can be
accordingly worked out and the upstream water level estimated for the
design flood.
Over the gauge-discharge curve on the downstream side and estimated on
the upstream, sufficient Free Board has to be provided so that there is no
overtopping of the components like abutments, piers, flank walls, guide
bunds, afflux bunds etc.
The Free Board to be provided depends on the importance of the structure
generally, 1.5 to 2 m Free Board above the affluxed water level on the
upstream and above the high flood level on the downstream is provided.
A freeboard is provided over an affluxed water level due to a flood with 1 in
500 year frequency.
Pond Level
Pond level is the level of water, immediately upstream of the barrage, which is required to facilitate
withdrawal of water into the canal with its full supply.
The pond level has to be carefully planned so that the required water can be drawn without difficulty.
By adding the energy losses through the head regulator to the Full Supply Level of the canal at its starting
point just downstream of the canal head-works, the pond level is evaluated.
Waterway

Waterway, or the
clear opening of a
barrage to allow
flood flow to pass
has a bearing on
the afflux.
 Hydraulic design for sub-surface flow
The sub-surface flow below a barrage causes two definite instability problems:
1. Uplift forces due to the sub soil pressure that tends to lift up the barrage raft floor, and

2. Upward rising seepage

forces through the river bed
just down stream of the
solid apron causes sand
particles to erupt upwards
and tends to piping failure
of the foundation.
In order to evaluate the uplift forces due to seepage flow, it might be worthwhile to recall the mechanism of such
flow, the distribution of sub-surface pressure, that is, the pressure of the water held within the pores of the soil
is such that it varies from a maximum along the upstream river bed to a minimum at the downstream river bed.
The pressure head differential between the upstream and downstream is expressed as a percentage and
denoted by . A comparison of pressure distribution below the barrage floor from Figs. (a) and (b) indicate that
the introduction of sheet piles reduce the pressure below the barrage raft floor. Infact, the seepage paths
increase due to the introduction of sheet piles, consequently reducing the gradient of sub-surface pressure.
Hydraulics of barrage surface flow
A barrage constructed across a river has to pass floods of different magnitudes each
year and the gates have to be operated in such away that the water level in the pool is
kept at least at the Pond Level (PL).
A very high flood would require opening of all the gates to provide an almost
obstruction-less flow to the flood.
For smaller floods, the gates may not have to be opened fully to provide unobstructed
flow.
The gates of all the bays of a barrage are not usually opened uniformly, but is opened
more towards the side where more flow is to be attracted due to certain site-specific
reasons.
Nevertheless, the requirement of maintaining pond level means that as the flood rises
in a river, more and more gate opening is provided till such time when the gates are
fully open.
 The corresponding upstream stage-discharge curve Figure (a) shows that up to a
river discharge of Q0, the water level behind the barrage is maintained at Pond
Level.
At any higher discharge, the stage discharge curve is similar to that of the normal
river downstream [Figure 12(b)] but with an afflux.

a) Upstream of barrage
b) Downstream of barrage
c) Downstream with retrogression
 Failures of weir foundations on permeable soils and their remedies
(a) Exit gradient (Ge) and piping
The exit gradient is the hydraulic gradient of the seepage flow under the base of the
weir floor.
The rate of seepage increases with the increase in Exit Gradient, Ge,and such an
increase would cause boiling of surface soil, the soil being washed away by the
percolating water.

The flow concentrates into the

resulting depression, removing
more soil and creating progressive
scour backwards (i.e. upstream).
This phenomenon is called piping,
and eventually undermines the
weir foundations.
 The exit gradient (tan ) according to the creep flow theory proposed by Bligh is:
Ge= Hs/L
where L is the total creep length equal to 2d1+b+2d2, d1 and d2 being the depths of the
upstream and downstream cut-off piles respectively and b the horizontal floor length
between the two piles; Hs, the seepage head, is the difference in the water levels upstream
and downstream of the weir.
The piping phenomenon can be minimized by reducing the exit gradient, i.e. by increasing
the creep length.

The creep length can be

increased by increasing the
impervious floor length and by
providing upstream and
downstream cut-off piles
 (b) Uplift pressures
The base of the impervious floor is subjected to uplift pressures as the water seeps through
below it. The uplift upstream of the weir is balanced by the weight of water standing above
the floor in the pond, whereas on the downstream side there may not be any such
balancing water weight. The design consideration must assume the worst possible loading
conditions, i.e. when the gates are closed and the downstream side is practically dry.
The impervious base floor may crack
or rupture if its weight is not
sufficient to resist the uplift pressure.
Any rupture thus developed in turn
reduces the effective length of the
impervious floor (i.e. reduction in
creep length), which increases the
exit gradient.
The provision of increased creep lengths and sufficient floor thickness prevents this
kind of failure. Excessively thick foundations are costly to construct below the river bed
under water.
Hence, piers can sometimes be extended up to the end of the downstream apron and
thin reinforced concrete floors provided between the piers to resist failure by bending.
The two criteria for the design of the impervious floor are as follows:
1. Safety against piping.
The creep length is given by L= cHs where c is the coefficient of creep (= 1/Ge).
2. Safety against uplift pressure.
If h is the uplift pressure head at a point under the floor, the pressure intensity is
p = gh (Nm-2).
This is to be resisted by the weight of the floor, the thickness of which is t and the density m (for
concrete, m =2240kgm3). Therefore,
m gt = gh giving h = Smt where Sm is the relative density of the floor material. Thus we can
write:
h-t = Smt-t which gives t = (h-t)/(Sm-1) = h/(Sm-1) where h is the pressure head (ordinate of
hydraulic gradient) measured above the top of the floor.

A safety factor of around 1.5 is usually adopted, thus

giving the design thickness of the concrete floor as t
= 1.2h where h is the pressure head (ordinate of
hydraulic gradient) measured above the top of the
floor.
A safety factor of around 1.5 is usually adopted, thus
giving the design thickness of the concrete floor as
t1.2h.
The design will be economical if the greater part of the creep length (i.e. of the
impervious floor) is provided upstream of the weir where nominal floor thickness
would be sufficient.
The stilling basin area of the weir is subjected to low pressures (owing to high
velocities) which, when combined with excessive uplift pressures, may rupture the
floor if it is of insufficient thickness.
Usually, the floor is constructed in mass concrete without any joints, and with a
hard top surface to resist the scouring velocities over it.
(c) Approach slab
The provision of a concrete slab upstream of the weir section (sloping
down gradually from the 2 horizontal to 1 vertical slope of the crest section
increases the seepage length, with a corresponding reduction in the exit gradient.
It will also provide a smooth erosion resistant transition for the accelerating flows
approaching the weir.
The upstream end of the approach slab is firmly secured to the upstream
sheetpiling or to the vertical concrete cut-off. It is usually monolithic with the weir
section in order to provide additional resistance to sliding.
Fixing dimensions of barrage components

Barrage width and scour depth

Barrage width
The hydraulic calculation for a barrage starts with determination of the waterway or
barrage width.
The barrage width must be sufficient to pass the design flood safely.
The present trend is to design the barrage for a 100150 year frequency flood.
The breach section acts as a fuse plug, and its provision is a more economical solution than
providing a large spillway capacity in the barrage.
For shallow and meandering rivers, the minimum stable width (P) can be calculated from
the formula:
P=4.75 Q1/2
Where, the discharge Q is in m3/s.
For rivers with very wide sections, the width of the barrage is limited to Laceys width
multiplied by looseness factor.
Assuming the width of each bay to be between 18m to 20m and pier width to be around
1.5 the total number of bays is worked out.
 The discharge through the bays of a barrage (spillway or under sluices) for an
uncontrolled condition (as during a flood discharge) is given as:
Q=CLH3/2
Where L is the clear water way (in meters) H is the total head (including velocity
head) over crest (in meters) and C is the coefficient of discharge, which for free
flow conditions may be taken as 1.705 (for Broad-crested weirs/spillways) or 1.84
(for Sharp-crested weirs/ spillways).
Another point that may be kept in mind is that the total head H also includes the
velocity head Va2/2g, where Va is the velocity of approach and may be found by
dividing the total discharge by the flow Q cross section area A. The quantity A, in
turn, may be found out by multiplying the river width by the depth of flow
Since the crest levels of spillway, under sluice and river-sluice bays would be
different, the discharge passing through each will have to be estimated separately
and then summed up.
Regime scour depths
The river bed is scoured during flood flows and large scour holes may
develop progressively adjacent to the concrete aprons which may
cause undermining of the weir structure.
Such flood scour depth below HFL corresponding to a regime width is
called regime scour depth (or more precisely regime hydraulic radius),
Rs, estimated by the following (Laceys) formula:

Rs = 0.475(Q/f)1/3
Protection works
Just upstream and downstream of the solid floor of the spillway apron, the river
bed is protected by certain methods like block protection, loose stone apron, etc.
Concrete aprons and inverted filter
The aprons are of plain concrete blocks of about 1m1.5m0.75m deep, cast in situ.
The downstream apron is laid with 70100 mm open joints filled with (broken stones),
so that the uplift pressure is relieved.
An inverted filter of well-graded gravel and sand is placed under the concrete apron in
order to prevent the loss of soil through the joints.

The upstream apron is laid watertight

so that the uplift pressure and
downward flow is reduced (due to the
increase in creep length).
Aprons of boulder or stone are laid
downstream and upstream of the
concrete aprons.
 Upstream block protection
Just beyond the upstream impervious floor, pervious protection comprising of cement
concrete blocks of adequate size laid over loose stone shall have to be provided.

The cement concrete blocks of size

around 1.5m x 1.5m x 0.9m are
generally used for barrages in
alluvial rivers.
The length of the upstream block
protection may be kept equal to a
length D, that is, the design depth
of scour below the floor level
 Downstream block protection
Pervious block protection is provided just beyond the down stream impervious floor.

It comprises of cement concrete blocks of size

1.5m x 1.5m x 0.9m laid with gaps of 75mm
width and packed with gravel.
The downstream block protection is laid on a
graded inverted filter designed to prevent the
uplift of fine sand particles upwards due to
seepage forces.
The filter should roughly conform to the
following design criteria:
 Where d15 and d85 represent grain sizes.
dx is the size such that x% of the soil grains are smaller than that particle size. x may
be 15 or 85 percent.
2) The filter may be provided in two or more layers.
The length of the downstream block protection has to be approximately equal to 1.5D,
where D is the design depth of cover below the floor level. Where this length is
substantial, the block protection with inverted filter may be provided in part of the
length and block protection only with loose stone spawls in the remaining length
 Loose stone protection
Beyond the block protection on the upstream and downstreams of a barrage located
on alluvial foundation, a layer of loose boulders or stones have to be laid,
The boulder size should be at least 0.3m and should not weigh less than 40kg.
This layer of boulders are expected to fall below at an angle , or launch , when the
riverbed down stream starts getting scoured at the commencement of a heavy flood

The length of river

bed that has to be
protected with
loose stone blocks
shall be around
1.5D, where D is the
depth of scour
below average
riverbed.
It may be mentioned that the loose stone protection shall have to be laid not only down stream of the
barrage floor, but all along the base of guide bunds, flank walls, abutment walls, divide walls, under
sluice tunnels.