Energy head dissipation and flow pressures in vortex drop shafts

Abstract

Vortex drop shafts are special manholes designed to link sewer channels at different elevations. Significant energy head dissipation occurs across these structures, mainly due to vertical shaft wall friction and turbulence in the dissipation chamber at the toe of the shaft. In the present study two aspects, sometimes neglected in the standard hydraulic design, are considered, namely the energy head dissipation efficiency and the maximum pressure force in the dissipation chamber. Different physical model results derived from the pertinent literature are analyzed. It is demonstrated that the energy head dissipation efficiency is mostly related to the flow impact and turbulence occurring in the chamber. Similarly to the drop manholes, a relation derived from a simple theoretical model is proposed for the estimation of the energy head loss coefficient. The analysis of the pressures measured on the chamber bottom allows to provide a useful equation to estimate the pressure peak in the chamber as a function of the approach flow energy head.