Diversion Headworks

Module- I

Dr Rajashree Lodh
Assistant Professor
HIT Kolkata
Types of Weir
1. Gravity weir: When the weight of weir balances uplift
pressure caused by the head of water seeping below
weir it is called as gravity weir.
2. Non-gravity weir: In non-gravity weir the uplift
pressure is largely resisted by weight of concrete slab
with the weight of divide piers.
• Based on material of construction and design features,
Gravity weir can be sub-divided as
a. Vertical Drop weir
b. Sloping weir
(i) Rockfill weirs
(ii) Concrete weirs
• Weirs can also be classified as follows:
1. According to use and function:
(i) Storage weir
(ii) Diversion weir
(iii) Waste weir
(iv) Pick-up weir

2. According to the construction material:

(i) Masonry weir
(ii) Rockfill weir
(iii) Concrete weir
•Storage Weir : It is high weir constructed for storing water. It is
also called as diversion weir. In such weirs shutters may or may
not be provided.
•Pick Up Weir : These are constructed when command area is far
away from reservoir either due to rolling topography or because
the land is not cultivable and if there is broken or rolling
topography on one or both banks of parent river in which
construction of canal may be costly.
•Diversion Weir : A weir which is constructed for diverting the
river water into the canal is called as diversion weir. Generally it
is constructed at right angle to the flow of river.
•Waste weir : It is constructed in continuation of dam . It is also
known as escape channel or a spillway. It allows flood water to
escape and thus ensure safety of the dam.
Vertical Drop Weir
•A vertical drop weir consists of a masonry wall with a vertical
(or nearly vertical) downstream face and a horizontal concrete
floor.
•The shutters are provided at the crest, which are dropped during
flood so as to reduce afflux. The water is pounded up to the
shutters during the rest of the period.
•The weir floor is designed as gravity section. Immediately at the
upstream end of the floor a block protection and at the
downstream end a graded inverted filter are provided.
• Launching aprons are provided at the u/s and d/s ends of floor to
safeguard against scouring action.
•This type of weir is suitable for hard clay foundation as well as
consolidated gravel foundation, and where the drop is small.
•Such weirs are obsolete now a days.
Vertical Drop Weir
Vertical Drop Weir
 Rock fill Weir

It consists of a main masonry weir wall and a number of core

walls. The space between the core walls is filled with the
fragments of rock called rock fill. The rock fill is usually given
a slope of 1 in 4 on u/s and a slope of 1 in 20 on d/s. A rock
fill weir requires a lot of rock fragments and is economical
only when a huge quantity of rock fill is easily available near
the weir site. It is suitable for fine sand foundation. Such
weirs are more or less obsolete now a days
Rock fill Weir
Concrete Weir with Sloping Glacis
•Concrete weir with sloping glacis are of relatively recent origin.
The crest has glacis (sloping floors) in u/s as well as d/s.
•There are sheet piles (or cut off walls) driven up to the maximum
scour depth at the u/s and d/s end of the concrete floor.
•Some times an intermediate pile is also driven at the beginning
of the u/s glacis or at the end of the d/s glacis.
•There is a concrete block protection in the continuation of the
concrete floor both at the u/s and d/s side.
•On the u/s of the u/s concrete block protection as well as on the
d/s of the d/s block protection, there is talus.
•.This type of weir may be constructed in pervious foundations
and are commonly adopted these days.
•This type is suitable for soft sandy foundation. It is used where difference
in weir crest and downstream riverbed is not more than 3 m. Hydraulic
jump is formed when water passes over the sloping glacis. Weir of this
type is of recent origin.
Sloping Weir of Concrete
 Reference
• Irrigation Engineering : N.N. Basak
• Irrigation Engineering & Hydraulic
Structures: S.K.Garg
• Internet Websites
Thanks