Eeperimental study and design aspects of morning-glory

spillways

M.Leopardi
University of L’Aquila, Italy

ABSTRACT: The tested models reproduce some small-scale morning-glory spillways of artificial
reservoirs realized in the last few years. Every experimental apparatus shows differences both in the
design criteria which govern the crest and the meridian profile of the spillways, and in the geometrical
characteristics of the shaft and the transitional vertical curve between the former and the outlet tunnel.
The difference between the spillway crest elevation and the bank level which defines real operating
terms moving away from the results of ideal conditions experiments, have been finally considered.

1 INTRODUCTION

Morning-glory spillways, whose first realisation dates in 1896 and 1908 in England, are generally
made up of a circular horizontal crest that carries on to the bottom as far as the throat, with a pro-
gressive decreasing diameter, whereas the throat is called shaft and is the starting section of a ver-
tical part, generally working with a constant diameter. The shaft is followed by a curved part, the
elbow, with the axis in the vertical plane and an angular diversion of about 90°. The elbow, whose
section is progressively decreasing or uniform with a sharp reduction at the end, terminates at the
control section, the area of which is smaller than the flow section area of the outlet tunnel.
By the vertical generators of the spillway profile, we have arranged some anti-vortex devices,
overhanging the crest and jointing the shaft at the bottom, in order to avoid the reduction of the dis-
charging capacity, produced by both rotating components and non-uniform stream getting to the
spillway, caused by both unevenness of the ground and location of the discharge.
In Figure 1 there is an outline of the main symbols concerning the terminology of morning-
glory spillways, whose first realization dates in 1896 and 1908, in England.

2 OPERATING TERMS

Through the study of a large technical literature on the subject (Gourley [1911], Wagner [1914],
Creager [1923], Scimemi [1930–1937–1946] Camp e Howe [1939], Gardel [1949], Lazzari
[1954–1959], Marchi Rubatta [1959], Rubatta [1962], Arredi [1988] depending on the water
level makes it possible to distinguish two types of working widely observed both in physical-
model experiments, and in prototype situations (e.g.):
1. Free flow (Figure 2): the rate of flow is a function of the hydraulic load on the spillway crest; the
nappe, after getting over the crest, goes down along the shaft, while adhering to the wall and leav-
ing the shaft aerated. At the bottom, in different depths varying according to the flow, the nappe
closes at the centre while making a “fungus”. The estimated relation of the spillway flow is:

(1)

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Figure 1. Characteristics of a morning glory spillway.

Figure 2. Free overfall over the spillway crest.

where  is equal to the discharge coefficient, depending on geometrical characteristics of the crest
and on h. The flow is not conditioned by shapes and sizes of the morning-glory at the end of the
crest.
2. Saturated flow (Figure 3) concomitant with the pressure operation of both all shaft pipe and the
curve situated on the base, as far as the control section which is placed on the starting section
of the outlet tunnel, connected with which the discharge can be expressed as:

(2)

where Cm is equal to the experimentally definable discharge coefficient. On the basis of model
tests, Gardel suggested the following equation:

(3)

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Figure 3. Submerged shaft spillway.

Figure 4. Transition between condition 1 and 2

where + is the efficiency coefficient, with validity limits:

with , as the friction loss along the shaft, estimated by ordinary formulas of permanent
turbulent motion.
The converging solution of (1) and (3) is called “engulfing point”.
Transition from an operating condition to the other is not sudden, since there is an intermediate
operation, called engulfed flow operation or orifice control operation, with concomitant occlusion
of the shaft pipe upper zones and no total engagement of the terminal control section ,. Sewage
flow grows according to the difference between the reservoir free surface level and the throat sec-
tion shaft level and is conditioned by shapes and sizes of the spillway single components.
Hydraulic model tests, carried out on models geometrically similar to different spillways, made
it possible to point out the parameters marking the transition regime between condition 1 and 2 in
the rating curve (Figure 4).

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Figure 5. Experimental installation.

Figure 6. Models 1 and 2.

3 EXPERIMENTAL INSTALLATION, GEOMETRICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF

THE SPILLWAYS AND OBTAINED RATING CURVES

The main characteristics of experimental installation are schematically represented in Figure 5.

Five models of morning-glory spillways have been submitted to hydraulic tests. The following
outline is a short description of each tested model and its pertinent variants, together with its geo-
metrical characteristics, its theoretical and its experimental data discharge curves (Figures 6–9).
Data are shown in real terms, in order to allow a quicker interpretation.
Model 1: The spillway crest of the manufacture is geometrically defined in conformity with
Lazzari’s directions. Some circular bends with appropriate radius join the profile to the outlet tun-
nel. In this case both the cylindrical shaft, and the control section are absent while the antivortex
device corresponds to only one fin, whose orientation depends on the longitudinal axis of the out-
let tunnel.

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Figure 7. Model 3.

Figure 8. Models 4 Type A and 4 Type B.

Model 2: The meridian profile follows Wagner’s directions. As everybody knows, although
these profiles give the advantage of increasing the discharge coefficient with consequent consid-
erable discharge increase (a 10% depression tallies with a discharge increase of about 2%, a 30%
depression corresponds with an increase of about 8%), they also produce some depressions caus-
ing small traction stresses, well absorbed by the structure (a 30% depression on a load of 3 m pro-
vokes a traction stress of  10 kPa).

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Figure 9a. Geometrical characteristics of Models 5.

Figure 9b. Theoretical and its experimental data discharge curves of Models 5.

Model 3: the whole funnel is sized according to Lazzari’s directions; the shaft is located
between the funnel and the elbow. Two significant variants have been included in this model:
– the doubling of the shaft pipe length;
– a 15% reduction of the control section area, compared to that of the basic model, and a 33%
reduction, compared to that of the outlet tunnel.
Model 4: the model has been realized with a double layout of the spillway crest. Whilst type A
plans a simple circular connection between the spillway crest and the shaft throat, type B links up
with the shaft by a first part according to a Creager profile, followed by a circular curve, besides
having the radius 1 m longer.
In both models, we have introduced some variants increasing the shaft length of about 1,75 and
2,5 times the basic model and reducing the control section area to about 13%, compared to that of
the basic model, and to about 24%, compared to that of the outlet tunnel.

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Figure 10.

Model 5: The basic layout consists of a very long shaft joining to the spillway crest, first by a
curvilinear part with a circular radius and then by a Creager profile. The layout shows a constant
reduction of the spillway section, ending downstream on the elbow tangent which gets into the out-
let tunnel together with the control section. Two further elbow layouts have been tested using this
model: the first one is characterised by a reduction of the elbow radius of curvature and by a pecu-
liar geometry, adopted in the overflow spillway plan of Pontesei’s dam, in the drainage area of the
river Piave.
The second variant plans a considerable increase of the elbow radius of curvature with conse-
quent decrease of both shaft elevation and tunnel length.

4 FIRST OBSERVATIONS

Operation working between free flow and saturated flow (Figure 10) mainly depends on:
• the marked presence of the shaft vertical part (option A, for model 3, option B, for model 4a and 4b);
• the ratio of shaft diameter to morning-glory diameter (the width increases in relation to the ratio
reduction);
• the ratio of control section area, situated in the shaft-tunnel transition point, to shaft area (the
width increases in relation to the ratio increase).
Tests on model 5 point out that option B showed a wide field of working in engulfed regime, in the
presence of a very high shaft (about 110 m), whose reducer part is characterised by the values of
0,56–0.44 of the ratio dc/2R, and by the value of 0,85 of control section area to shaft area and to
an elbow area with the high ratio rc/dc.

5 INFLUENCE OF SURROUNDING TOPOGRAPHIC LAYOUT

In the free flow field, further surveys concerned the influence of the morning-glory surrounding
topographic layout on the discharge coefficient values. At the design stage, real operating terms
moving away from the results of ideal conditions experiments come about when the foreseen
hypotheses and conditions concerning the surrounding do not happen.
As for model 3, we have hypothesized and realized 5 different layouts of the ground. The first
one plans a 30° inclined plane with the morning-glory coming to the surface, downstream, at a
level equal to the diameter (Figure 11).

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Figure 11.

Figure 12.

Figure 13.

The second one, hp1, and the third one, hp2, plan an extra storey on a horizontal plane, respec-
tively a fourth and a half of the morning-glory diameter (Figure 12).
In the end, the last two layouts, hd1 and hd2, vary compared to the foregoing ones because of
the realisation of a circular-shaped depressed area, 10 m depth in comparison with the datum
plane, whose diameter is twice the morning-glory diameter (Figure 13).
Figures 13 and 14 graphically facsimile the rating curve, with the heads h! referring to the crest
elevation and the correlated discharge coefficient values ! calculated as follows

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Figure 14.

6 SECONDS OBSERVATIONS

Through the distinct comparison of the diagrams and correlated conditions surrounding the first
three conditions and the remaining two, we can see that the acquired data with values of h! in prox-
imity to the plan ones do not stress a discharge coefficient variation depending on the inclination.
On the contrary, in the transition between the hp and the hd condition, an increase of the discharge
coefficient in relation to the variation of the dock geometry is obvious.
In the design discharge, both of them coincide with two only discharge coefficient values
µ moving away from each other of about 1,6%. At a parity of load h’ on the crest, all this means
a slight discharge increase Q that, according to the different conditions, takes the following
values:

As far as the influence of anti-vortex devices on flow conditions is concerned, all the surveys did
not point out any considerable alteration of the function !  !(h!). It must be noticed that all the
surveys have been carried out in the presence of four and two devices, and have been compared to
the solution deprived of these components.

7 NOTATIONS
Q design discharge
Cm discharge coefficient
h! overfall head
R! radius of the circular shaft spillway crest
rc radius of curvature of the axis of the bend in the vertical section
dc diameter of the shaft

. friction loss along the shaft
, terminal control section
 discharge coefficient
! discharge coefficient referring to the crest elevation
+ efficiency coefficient

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