D iv e r sion h e a d w o r k s

Content…
Types- selection of the suitable site for the
diversion headwork components of
diversion headwork- Causes of failure of
structure on
pervious foundation- Khosla’s theory- Design of
concrete sloping glacis weir.
Introduction…

Any hydraulic structure which supplies water

to the off-taking canal is called a headwork.

Headwork may be divided into two

1. Storage headwork.
2. Diversion headwork.
Storage head works
Dam is constructed across a river valley to
form storage reservoir, known as storage head
works.
Water is supplied to the canal from this
reservoir through canal regulator.
These serves for multipurpose function like
hydro- electric power generation, flood
control, fishery.
Diversion head works

Weir or barrage is constructed across a

perennial river to raise water level and to
divert the water to canal, is known as
diversion head work.

Flow of water in the canal is controlled by

canal head regulator.
Objective of diversion head work
 It raises the water level on its upstream side.
 It regulates the supply of water into canals.
 It controls the entry of silt into canals
It creates a small pond (not reservoir) on its
upstream and provides some pondage.
It helps in controlling the fluctuation of water
level in river during different seasons.
Site selection for diversion head work
The river section at the site should be narrow
and well-defined.
The river should have high, well-defined, in
erodible and non-submersible banks so that
the cost of river training works is minimum.
The canals taking off from the diversion head
works should be quite economical and
 Should have a large commanded area.
There should be suitable arrangement for the
diversion of river during construction.

The site should be such that the weir (or

barrage) can be aligned at right angles to
the direction of flow in the river.

There should be suitable locations for the

under sluices, head regulator and other
components of the diversion head works.
The diversion head works should not
submerge costly land and property on
its upstream.
Good foundation should be available at the
site.
The required materials of construction should
be available near the site.
The site should be easily accessible by road or
rail.
The overall cost of the project should be a
minimum.
Components of a diversion headwork
 Weir or barrage
 Undersluices
 Divide wall
 Fish ladder
 Canal head regulator
 Silt excluders/ Silt prevention devices
River training works (Marginal bunds and
guide banks)
Weir
 Normally the water level of any perennial river is
such that it cannot be diverted to the irrigation canal.
 The bed level of the canal may be higher than
the existing water level of the river.
 In such cases weir is constructed across the river
to raise the water level.
 Surplus water pass over the crest of weir.
 Adjustable shutters are provided on the crest to
raise the water level to some required height.
Barrage

When the water level on the up stream side of

the weir is required to be raised to different
levels at different time, barrage is constructed.

Barrage is an arrangement of adjustable gates

or shutters at different tires over the weir.
Barrage Weir
Low set crest High set crest
Ponding is done by means of gates Ponding is done against the raised
crest or partly against crest and
partly by shutters
Gated over entire length Shutters in part length
Gates are of greater height Shutters are of smaller height, 2 m
Perfect control on river flow No control of river in low floods
High floods can be passed with Excessive afflux in high floods
minimum afflux
Less silting upstream due to low set Raised crest causes silting upstream
crest
Longer construction period Shorter construction period
Silt removal is done through under No means for silt disposal
sluices
Costly structure Relatively cheaper structure
Under sluices

 Also known as scouring sluices.

 The under sluices are the openings
provided at the base of the weir or barrage.
 These openings are provided with
adjustable gates. Normally, the gates are
kept closed.
 The suspended silt goes on depositing in
front of the canal head regulator.
 When the silt deposition becomes
appreciable the gates are opened and the
deposited silt is loosened with an agitator
mounting on a boat.

 The muddy water flows towards the

downstream through the scouring
sluices.

 The gates are then closed. But, at the

period of flood, the gates are kept opened.
Divide wall
The divide wall is a long wall constructed at
right angles in the weir or barrage, it may
be constructed with stone masonry or
cement concrete.
On the upstream side, the wall is extended
just to cover the canal head regulator and on
the downstream side, it is extended up to the
launching apron.
The functions of the divide wall are as
follows:
 To form a still water pocket in front of the canal head
so that the suspended silt can be settled down which
then later be cleaned through the scouring sluices from
time to time.
 It controls the eddy current or cross current in
front of the canal head.
 It provides a straight approach in front of the
canal head.
 It resists the overturning effect on the weir or
barrage caused by the pressure of the impounding
water.
Fish ladder
The fish ladder is provided just by the side of the
divide wall for the free movement of fishes.
 Rivers are important source of fishes.
The tendency of fish is to move from upstream to
downstream in winters and from downstream to
upstream in monsoons.
 This movement is essential for their survival.
Due to construction of weir or barrage, this
movement gets obstructed, and is detrimental to
the fishes.
 In the fish ladder, the fable walls are constructed in
a zigzag manner so that the velocity of flow within
the ladder does not exceed 3 m/sec.
 The width, length and height of the fish ladder
depend on the nature of the river and the type of
the weir or barrage.
Canal head regulator
A structure which is constructed at the head of
the canal to regulate flow of water is known as
canal head regulator.
It consists of a number of piers which
divide the total width of the canal into a
number of spans which are known as bays.
The piers consist of number tiers on which
the adjustable gates are placed.
The gates are operated form the top by
suitable mechanical device.

A platform is provided on the top of the piers

for the facility of operating the gates.

Again some piers are constructed on the down

stream side of the canal head to support the
roadway.
Functions of Canal Head
Regulator
It regulates the supply of water entering
the canal

 It controls the entry of silt in the canal

It prevents the river-floods from entering the

canal
Silt regulation works
The entry of silt into a canal, which takes off
from a head works, can be reduced by
constructed certain special works, called silt
control works.
These works may be classified into
the following two types:
(a) Silt Excluders
(b) Silt Ejectors
Silt Excluders
Silt excluders are those works which are
constructed on the bed of the river, upstream
of the head regulator.
The clearer water enters the head regulator
and silted water enters the silt excluder.
In this type of works, the silt is, therefore,,
removed from the water before in enters
the canal.
Silt
Ejectors
Silt ejectors, also called silt extractors, are those
devices which extract the silt from the canal
water after the silted water has travelled a
certain distance in the off-take canal.

These works are, therefore, constructed on the

bed of the canal, and little distance
downstream from the head regulator.
River training works
 River training works are required near the weir site in
order to ensure a smooth and an axial flow of water,
and thus, to prevent the river from outflanking the
works due to a change in its course.
 The river training works required on a canal headwork
are:
(a) Guide banks
(b) Marginal bunds
(c) Spurs or groynes
Guide Bank
 When a barrage is constructed across a river which
flows through the alluvial soil, the guide banks
must
 be constructed on both the approaches to protect the
structure from erosion.
Guide bank serves the following purposes:
 It protects the barrage from the effect of scouring
and erosion.
 It provides a straight approach towards the barrage.
 It controls the tendency of changing the course of
the river.
 It controls the velocity of flow near the structure.
Marginal Bunds
The marginal bunds are earthen
embankments which are constructed parallel
to the river bank on one or
both the banks according to the condition. The
top width is generally 3 m to 4 m. The side
slope on the
river side is generally 1.5: 1 and that on
the country side is 2:1.
The marginal bunds serve the
following purposes:
 It prevents the flood water or storage water
from entering the surrounding area which
may be submerged or may be water logged.
 It retains the flood water or storage water
within a specified section.
 It protects the towns and villages
from devastation during the heavy
flood.
 It protects valuable agricultural lands.
Causes of failure of structure
Irrigation structures (or hydraulic structures)
for the diversion and distribution works are
weirs, barrages, head regulators, distributary
head regulators, cross regulators, cross-
drainage works, etc.

These structures are generally founded on

alluvial soils which are highly pervious.
These soils are easily scoured when the high
velocity water passes over the structures.
The failures of weirs constructed on the
permeable foundation may occur due to
various causes, which may be broadly
classified into the following two categories:

1. Failure due to- subsurface flow

2. Failure due to surface flow

1. Failure due to- subsurface
flowFailure by Piping or undermining
(a)
water from the upstream side continuously percolates
through the bottom of the foundation and emerges at
the downstream end of the weir or barrage floor.
 The force of percolating water removes the
soil particles by scouring at the point of
emergence.
 As the process of removal of soil particles goes on
continuously, a depression is formed which extends
backwards towards the upstream through the bottom
of the foundation.
A hollow pipe like formation thus develops
under the foundation due to which the weir
or barrage may fail by subsiding.
This phenomenon is known as failure by
piping or undermining.
(b) Failure by Direct uplift

The percolating water exerts an upward

pressure on the foundation of the weir
or barrage.
If this uplift pressure is not counterbalanced by
the self weight of the structure, it may fail by
rapture.
 2. Failure due to- surface
flow
(a) By hydraulic jump
When the water flows with a very high velocity
over the crest of the weir or over the gates of
the barrage, then hydraulic jump develops.
This hydraulic jump causes a suction
pressure or negative pressure on the
downstream side which acts in the direction
uplift pressure.
If the thickness of the impervious floor is
sufficient, then the structure fails by
(b) By scouring
During floods, the gates of the barrage are kept
open and the water flows with high velocity.
The water may also flow with very high velocity
over the crest of the weir.
Both the cases can result in scouring effect
on the downstream and on the upstream
side of the structure.
Due to scouring of the soil on both sides of the
structure, its stability gets endangered by
shearing.
Design aspects
(a)Subsurface flow
1. The structure should be designed such that
the piping failure does not occur due to
subsurface flow.
2. The downstream pile must be provided to
reduce the exit gradient and to prevent
piping.
3. An impervious floor of adequate length is
provided to increase the path of
percolation and to reduce the hydraulic
gradient and the seepage force.
4. The seepage path is increased by providing
piles and impervious floor to reduce the
uplift pressure.
5. The thickness of the floor should be
sufficient to resist the uplift pressure due to
subsurface flow.
6. A suitably graded inverted filter should be
provided at the downstream end of the
impervious floor to check the migration of
soil particles along with water. The filter layer
is loaded with concrete blocks.
(b) Surface flow
1. The piles (or cut-off walls) at the upstream
and downstream ends of the impervious floor
should be provided upto the maximum scour
level to protect the main structure against
scour.
2. The launching aprons should be provided
at the upstream and downstream ends to
provide a cover to the main structure against
scour.
3. A device is required at the downstream
to dissipate energy. For large drops,
4. Additional thickness of the impervious floor
is provided at the point where the hydraulic
jump is formed to counterbalance the suction
pressure.
5. The floor is constructed as a
monolithic structure to develop bending
resistance (or beam action) to resist the
suction pressure.