Experimental investigation on the effect of different slot shapes and configurations on scour dimension downstream of flip buckets

Flip buckets at the end of a spillway can dissipate the flood discharge energy. Compared to other energy dissipators, this is a cost-effective structure. The formation of a scour hole downstream of a flip bucket is a topic of interest among hydraulic engineers. The current study investigated scouring downstream of a flip bucket under two major scenarios: (i) free conditions, and (ii) slotted conditions with rectangular and triangular slots configured differently under four different discharge rates. In total, 20 experiments were conducted in this study. Results showed that the use of a deflector slot greatly affected the scour extent and depth, resulting in a greater scour reduction (53%) in the labyrinth rectangular slotted bucket compared to the solid bucket. The results were compared to empirical equations, and a high correlation was observed between them. In comparison, the Taraimovich equation produced more accurate results in control experiments, and the Damle-A and Damle-B equations produced more accurate results in experiments corresponding to labyrinth rectangular and triangular slotted buckets.