Energy dissipating crest splitters: Updated design guidance

Dissipating the energy from high head, high velocity overspills has always proved challenging. A successful solution was developed as far back as 1943 by D.F. Roberts of South Africa. The Roberts’ crest splitter system separates the flow and causes the resulting jets to interact and dissipate before falling onto a downstream tailwater or stilling basin. However, subsequent high head and high unit discharge applications have superseded the original design guidance provided by Roberts. This paper reviews the use of such crest splitters at a number of more recent prototypes, as a guide to the system’s successful future application.