Wadi Aday G2 dam (Sultanate of Oman)

Verification and optimization of the hydraulic operation of the labyrinth spillway

Client : Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources - Model scale: 1:80

Context

Following the cyclone Gonu that swept Muscat in 2007, ARTELIA was commissioned by the Omani government to design a large protection device for the capital against flash floods. Among the 7 dams planned by the study, the Wadi Aday Gorge dam is the most impressive, and its spillway must be verified and optimized by physical modeling.

Aims of the physical scale model

• Confirm the stage/discharge relation upstream of the spillway
• Check the approach conditions upstream of the spillway
• Study the flow in the flood-discharging tributary
• Study behaviour of the scour and stilling pits

Description of the physical scale model

The model represents the downstream part of the dam reservoir, the hydraulic components of the structure (bottom valve and labyrinth drain), the downstream section of the Aday wadi valley, as well as the right bank tributary receiving overflows

A more detailed model was then carried out following the general model in order to establish the height/flow law according to the geometry of the cycles and to verify that the maximum evacuation capacity meets the criteria of non-intelligibility at the tail of restraint.