DISCHARGE ESTIMATION AT A

DAM AND BRIDGES

 Discharge Estimation at a Dam
The flow of a river at a dam site is generally diverted in many
ways besides the discharge over the spillway which is primarily
meant for allowing flood discharge to escape downstream. Such
as:

a. Head regulator for feeding the water to an irrigational canal

b. Penstocks leading water to the powerhouse for hydropower
generation
c. Intake tower for urban water supply
d. Navigation lock for supplying water for navigation
e. Water flowing through fish ladders, log passes, etc.
 Discharge Estimation at a Dam
In case the river discharge is to be gauged at a dam spillway, all
the above mentioned additional withdrawals must be assessed
and added to the spillway discharge .

For dependable measurement of discharge it is desirable to have

the spillway normal to the direction of flow with the same crest
level and cross-section all along.

It is always preferable to have free flow condition of flow over

the spillway as submergence affects the coefficient of discharge.
 Discharge Estimation at a Dam
The formula for estimating discharge over a spillway can be
expressed as:
 Discharge Estimation at a Bridge
Measurement of discharge from the observed afflux at bridges
provides a means of estimation of stream discharges. The
method is developed by Kindsvater and Carter of Geological
Survey of USA. The formula can be expressed as:
Discharge Estimation at a Bridge
 Discharge Estimation at a Bridge
Experiments shows that C is a function of degree of channel
contraction, geometry of construction and Froude number. Of
these, the channel contraction and the length width ratio of the
constriction (L/b) were found to be most significant.

Channel contraction ratio, m is defined by:

Discharge Estimation at a Bridge