Hydraulics of Tangential Vortex Intake for Urban Drainage

Abstract

A tangential vortex intake is a compact structure that can convey storm water efficiently as a swirling flow down a vortex dropshaft. It has been studied in physical models and successfully employed in urban drainage and hydroelectric plant applications, but a comprehensive account of the key flow characteristics has not been reported and a theoretical design guideline of a tangential intake is not available. In this study the hydraulics of tangential slot vortex intakes is investigated via extensive experiments. It is found that the flow in the tapering and downward sloping vortex inlet channel is strongly dependent on the geometry of the inlet and dropshaft. Under some conditions, hydraulic instability and overflow can occur, rendering the design ineffective. It is shown that the hydraulic stability depends on the discharge at which flow control shifts from upstream to downstream