Study on the Best Depth of Stilling Basin with Shallow-Water Cushion

Abstract

The depth of the stilling basin with shallow-water cushion (SBSWC) is a key factor that affects the flow regime of hydraulic jump in the basin. However, the specific depth at which the water cushion is considered as ‘shallow’ has not been stated clearly by far, and only conceptual description is provided. Therefore, in order to define the best depth of SBSWC and its relationship between the Froude number at the inlet of the stilling basin, a large number of experiments were carried out to investigate SBSWC. First of all, 30 cases including five different Froude numbers and six depths were selected for which large eddy simulation (LES) was firstly verified by the experiments and then adopted to calculate the hydraulic characteristics in the stilling basin. Finally, three standards, based on the flow regime of hydraulic jump, the location of the main stream and the energy dissipation rate, were proposed to define the best depth of SBSWC. The three criteria are as follows: (1) a complete hydraulic jump occurs in the basin (2) the water cushion is about 1/10–1/3 deep of the stilling basin, and (3) the energy dissipation rate is more than 70% and the unit volume energy dissipation rate is as high as possible. It showed that the best depth ratio of SBSWC (depth to length ratio) was between 0.1 and 0.3 and it also indicated the best depth increased with the increase in Froude number. The results of the work are of significance to the design and optimizing of SBSWC.