Hydraulics and design of spillway aerators for cavitation prevention in high speed flows

Abstract

The controlling factors for spillway aeration are discussed in view of their relevance to the design of aerators. The air entrainment results from the interaction of the water flow and the air flow in the supply system. An empirical two dimensional air entrainment function for various aerator geometries is presented. The subatmospheric pressure distribution in the aerator is calculated by an iterative method. The combination of both yields the total air entrainment rate. The air entrainment leads to an increase of the water flow velocity.