Hydraulic Structures Baffled Apron Drops Printed: December 18, 2010

1

Baffled Apron Drops
Reference: United States Dept. of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation, Design of Small Canal
Structures, United States Government Printing Office, Denver, 1974. Pages 299-308. Available in the
college library and the course website.
Design Considerations
Capacity
The capacity of the baffled apron drop is a function of the allowable flow rate, q, per foot of width. See
Table 6-1.

Inlet
The inlet should be the same width as baffled apron and should provide a velocity of approach slower
than the critical velocity V
c
where splashing must be minimized, the entrance velocity should not exceed
about 2
c
V where
3
c
V gq =

1. Sill control:
The inlet length should be at least
1
2d , as shown in Figure 6-2. The required height of the sill
above the inlet floor may be determined from the energy balance between the inlet and upstream
channel. Thus

1
1
c
c
s s i s
s s s i
E E h h
h E E h
= + +
=

where

s
h is the sill height,
1 1
1 s v
E d h = + in the upstream channel,
c c
s c v
E d h = + in the control section at the sill.
Hydraulic Structures Baffled Apron Drops Printed: December 18, 2010
2

( )
1
2 2
1
0.5
0.5 0.5
2 2
i
c
i v
c
v v
h h
V V
h h
g g
= A
| |
= =
|
\ .

Max R=9 ft. A R=6 ft is frequently used.
The sill has a 6 wide slot to provide drainage of the upstream pool.



Baffled Apron Dimensions
1. Set the longitudinal slope of the chute floor and side-walls at 2 to 1 ( tan 0.5 | = ).
2. Approximate width of structure (B) should be
Q
B
q
=
where
B= width,
Q= Maximum total flow rate, and
q= allowable flow rate per foot of width.
3. Baffle block height, h
b
, should be about 0.9d
c
to nearest inch.
4. Baffle block widths and spaces should be equal, and not less than h
b
but not more than
1
2
1
b
h . Partial blocks, having a width not less than
1
3 b
h and not more than
2
3 b
h should be
placed against the sidewalls in rows 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. Alternate rows of baffle blocks should
be staggered so that each block is downstream from a space in the adjacent row.
5. The slope distance, S, between rows of baffle blocks, as shown in Figure 6-5 should be at
least 2h
b
but not greater than 6 ft.
Hydraulic Structures Baffled Apron Drops Printed: December 18, 2010
3


6. A minimum of four rows of baffle blocks should be used. The baffled apron should be
extended so that the top of at least one row of baffle blocks will be below the bed of the
outlet channel. The apron should be extended beyond the last row of blocks a distance
equal to the clear space between block rows.
7. Upstream faces of baffle blocks are normal to the chute floor. The longitudinal thickness,
T, of the baffle blocks at the top should be at least 8 inches, but not more than 10 inches.
8. Suggested height of the walls to provide adequate free board is three times the baffle block
height measured normal to the chute floor.
Uplift stability
The net forces causing floatation of the structure should be considered, assuming a sudden
cessation of flow in the channel. The net floatation force is equal to the weight of the empty
structure minus the hydrostatic force remaining in the soil around the structure.
Sliding Stability
Major forces, F
S
, tending to induce sliding along the horizontal plane, during maximum flow
in the channel are
1 2 3 4 S
F F F F F = + + +
where
F
1
= Hydrostatic force on the upstream face of the upstream cutoff walls.
F
2
= Hydrostatic force on the vertical face of the sill.
Hydraulic Structures Baffled Apron Drops Printed: December 18, 2010
4

F
3
= Horizontal component of hydrostatic force on the upstream face of the baffle
blocks.
F
4
= Force of saturated earth load on the upstream face of the downstream cutoff
walls.

Resisting Forces (F
R
)
Frictional resistance for ( )
1 2
L L + as the sloping portion can move horizontal. Frictional
resistance is a function of structure weight reduced by uplift.

( ) passive earth force
R c w
F W W U = + +
where,
is the coefficient of sliding friction, generally assumed to be equal to
0.35,
W
c
is the weight of concrete in the inlet portion of the structure, and
W
w
is the weight of the water in the inlet portion of the structure.
U is the vertical uplift force as determined by Lanes weighted creep
method.
Passive earth force is the total force resulting from passive earth pressure on
the d.s. side of cutoff walls.

Factor of safety . .
R
S
F
F S
F
=
Miscellaneous Considerations
Gravel or riprap should be provided on each side of structure from the top of the slope to the d.s.
wing wall, extending laterally a distance equal to the wall height to prevent erosion from
splashing.

Hydraulic Structures Baffled Apron Drops Printed: December 18, 2010
5

Design Example
Design a baffled apron drop for the data
1
1
2
1
1
120
8
4.10
58.02
2.08 /
0.07
v
Q cfs
b ft
d ft
A ft
V ft sec
h ft
=
=
=
=
=
=

1
2
2.55
0.025
0.00035
1 :1
2
6.1
b
B
R
n
S
SS
f ft
h ft
=
=
=
=
=
=

A drop of 6 feet in invert elevation is required.
Solution
1. From Table 6-1 find the recommended flow rate q for 120 cfs.
16 q cfs per foor =
120
7.5
16
Q
B ft
q
= = =
2.
3
3
32.2 16 8.0 /
c
V gq
ft sec
=
= =

16
2
8
c
c
c
q
d ft
V
= = =
Block height h
b
= 0.9 d
c
= 0.92=1.8 ft, say 1ft 10 inches
Block width and spacing = w
Min. 1.83
b
w h ft = =
Max. 1.5 1.5 1.83 2.75
b
w h ft = = =
3. Determine exact dimensions of baffle blocks and chute width
1 1
3 3
2 2
3 3
min. 1.83 0.61
max. 1.83 1.22
p b
p b
w h ft
w h ft
= = =
= = =

For simplicity try
1
2
0.915
p b
w h ft = =
B= 2 half blocks + 1 full block + 2 full spaces
Considering width of blocks and spaces equal to the block height = 1.83 ft
1
2
2 2 4
1.83
4 1.83 7.32
b
B w w w w
w h ft
B ft
= + + =
= =
= =

Hydraulic Structures Baffled Apron Drops Printed: December 18, 2010
6

For simplicity use ( ) 2 1.83 and 2.75 w ft ft ft = > <

And ( ) 1 0.61 1.22
p
w ft ft ft = > <
Then 4 4 2 8 B w ft = = =
3
120
15
8
32.2 15 7.85 /
1.91
0.9 1.91 1.72
c
c
c
b
q cfs per foot
V ft sec
q
d ft
V
h ft
= =
= =
= =
= =

Use h
b
= 1 ft 9 inches = 1.75 ft
Select T=9 inches > 8 inches < 10 inches
4. Determination of inlet length,
1
L
1 1
2 2 4.1 8.2 L d ft = = =
Use
1
8 3 L ft inches =
5. Determination of inlet sill height,
s
h
8 , 15 , 1.91 , 0.96, 7.86
c
c v c
B ft q cfs d ft h V ft = = = = =
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
1 2
1 1
1
(where, inlet loss)
= 0.5
4.1 0.07 1.91 0.96 0.5 0.96 0.07
0.85 use 10 0.83
c c
s s s i i
v c v v v
s
h E E h h
d h d h h h
ft h inches ft
= =
+ +
= + +
= = =

6. Check inlet velocity to minimize splashing
Determine depth, d
1
, at inlet cutoff
1
0.83 1.91 0.96
3.70
c
s c v
d h d h
ft
= + +
= + +
=

The entrance velocity is then

1
1 1
120
4
3.7 8
Q Q
V fps
A d B
= = = =

Determine critical velocity, V
c
, over crest
1
120
7.85 2 O.K.
1.91 8
c
c
Q Q
V fps V
A d B
= = = =

Inlet velocity is approximately equal to half the critical velocity, and splashing will be minimized.
Hydraulic Structures Baffled Apron Drops Printed: December 18, 2010
7

7. Determine the sill length, L
2

Using R=6 ft and invert slope of 2 to 1
( )
26 34'
sin 0.4472
tan 0.5
2 13 17'
tan 2 0.2361
y
z
y
x
z
R
|
|
|
|
|
=
= =
= =
=
= =

0.2361 1.42
0.4472 0.63
1.26
0.5
z R ft
y z ft
y
x ft
= =
= =
= =

2
1.26 1.42 2.68 L x z ft = + = + =
and 0.83 0.63 0.2
s
e h y ft = = =
8. Determine the slope distance, S
2
b
S h = (min.) but not greater than 6 ft
( ) 2 1.75 3.5 S ft = =
Use S=6 ft for all blocks equal or less than 3 feet in height.
9. Determine minimum depth of cover, j at outlet to insure that the last row of baffle blocks will be
covered by the backfill, placed in the structure to the evaluation of the downstream grade.
( )
( )
sin 6 0.4472 2.68
cos 1.75 0.8944 1.57
4.25
y
y b
y y
S S ft
h h ft
j S h ft
|
|
= = =
= = =
= + =

10. Determine apron lengths,
3
and
s
L L for a drop, F= 6 feet.
Minimum distance,

0.2 6 4.25 10.45
y
L e F j
ft
= + +
= + + =

Minimum rows of blocks,

10.45
Rows 3.9 use 4 (min.)
2.68
y
y
L
S
= = =
Finally,

( )
4
4 6 24
s
L S
ft
=
= =

Hydraulic Structures Baffled Apron Drops Printed: December 18, 2010
8

( )
( )
3
4
4 2.68 10.72
4 4 6cos 24 0.8944 21.47
y y
x
L S
ft
L S ft |
=
= =
= = = =

11. Determination of overall length of structure, L
1 2 3
8.25 2.68 21.47
32.4
L L L L
ft
= + +
= + +
=

12. Determination of wall heights
1 1
1
1 ( . ) 4.10 1 5.1
Use 5 2
h d ft F B ft
h ft inches
= + = + =
=

With a level invert and with the top of the walls level from
1 2
to h h

2 1
5 2 10
4 4
s
h h h
ft inches inches
ft inches
=
=
=

Height to chute walls
( )
3
3 3 1.75 5.25
5 3
b
h h ft
ft inches
= = =
=

13. Determine length, M
1
, of the upstream wing walls as shown in Figure 6-7. With C
1
=2.5 ft from
Figure 7-2.
( )
1 1 1
1.5
1.5 5.17 2.5 10.25
M h C
ft
= +
= + =

Use 10 ft 3 inches.

14. Determine length, M
3
, of downstream wing wall as shown in Figure 6-8.
3 3 3
3
1.5
2.5 for channel depth of 4.1 from Figure 7-2.
M h C
C ft ft
' = +
=

Hydraulic Structures Baffled Apron Drops Printed: December 18, 2010
9

( )
3
3
3
3
5.25
5.87
cos 0.8944
1.5 5.87 2.5 11.31
Use 11 4
h
h ft
M ft
M ft inches
|
' = = =
= + =
=



15. Check floatation of the structure (due to uplift forces) assuming a sudden cessation of channel
flow.
16. Check sliding stability of the structure according to that the resisting forces should be greater than
sliding forces.
17. Protection
For water depth 4.1 ft,
Inlet protection: Type 1, extending a distance d
1
upstream, and up the sloping sides to an
elevation 1 ft above the normal water surface.
Outlet protection: Type 3, extending downstream a distance 4 d
1
and up the sloping sides
to an elevation 1 ft above the assumed water table.
Slope protection: Type 1 should be provided on each side of the structure from the top of
the slope to the downstream wing wall extending laterally a distance equal
to wall height, to prevent erosion from splashing.