Air–Water Flows and Head Losses on Stepped Spillways with Inclined Steps

On a stepped spillway, the staircase invert profile generates some intense turbulent dissipation during the spill, associated with a significant reduction of kinetic energy, as well as strong self-aeration. The present study focused on the effects of inclined downward steps on the air–water flow properties, flow resistance, and head losses because these mostly relate to spillway design. Some physical modeling was conducted in a relatively large facility with a 45° stepped chute (1V:1H) operating with Reynolds numbers 2.8×103