Design of aerators for prevention of cavitation – The Höljes Dam.

Abstract: Major cavitation damages can seriously endanger the stability of hydraulic structures, in worst case lead to dam failure. To remedy the effect of cavitation on spillway chutes the most common method today is aeration of the flow. Aerators introduce air to the bottom layers of the flow, enough to prevent damages to occur in the concrete lining. The design of an aerator system is of a complex manner due to the many involving parameters such as the channel slope, ramp angle, Froude number, flow velocity. In this report the susceptibility of the Höljes Dam to cavitate has been outlined with the result that this would occur at an extreme and most unlikely situation and remedial measures have been proposed. The design of an aerator system has been proposed as the result from theoretical research. A physical hydraulic model to assess the efficiency of a proposed aerator design is highly recommended. Alternative causes to the damages observed in the spillway chute are discussed.