Effect of deflector aerator on stepped spillway flow

Systematic physical model tests are performed on a stepped spillway equipped with a bottom aerator at the beginning of the stepped part. A deflector is used to issue a jet in order to initiate air entrainment into the flow. A horizontal slot located in the vertical face of the first step allows for air supply underneath the flow. The cavity subpressure was measured to ensure optimal aerator performance, namely atmospheric pressure conditions. The air discharge entrained below the jet is measured to derive the aerator air entrainment coefficient. The local air concentrations are spatially measured downstream of the aerator at regularly spaced profiles, allowing the investigation of air transport and detrainment as well as the average and bottom air concentrations. The present paper focuses on the resulting spatial distribution of air concentration for five deflector geometries. The chute angle, step height, approach flow Froude number, and approach flow depth were kept constant so that the differences occur mostly on the jet length and air entrainment coefficient. The flow depth and the air concentration rapidly converge towards quasi-uniform flow values downstream of the aerator.