Spillway chutes: Practical design considerations and details

Spillways are a fundamental part of most dams. Much has been written about their hydraulics, and especially the variety of intake works and terminal energy dissipators which may be used. However, very little has been written about the practical design and construction details required for the high velocity chutes in between, and this is what the present paper attempts to address. It is based on the writer’s experience of designing and inspecting spillways for more than 45 years, and working on dam projects in more than 50 countries.