On the Piano Key Weir hydraulics

The Piano Key Weir (PKW) is a kind of labyrinth weir with a geometry that uses overhangs to reduce the base length. The PKW can thus be directly placed on the crest of an existing dam. Together with its high discharge capacity for low heads (up to four times as high as an ogee-crested weir of same length), this geometric feature makes the PKW an interesting solution for dam rehabilitation and for new dam projects with a high level of constraints (design discharge, available space, reservoir storage, ...). PKW has been initially designed in 2001 and built for the first time in 2006 by “Electricité de France (EDF)”. Even if the first experimental studies confirmed its appealing discharge capacities, the flow upstream, over and downstream of this complex structure is still poorly described.
Following a 3 years intensive experimental and numerical study of PKW hydraulics, the paper presents a general description of the hydraulic behavior of the PKW. It aims to explain the influence of the large set of geometric parameters on the discharge capacity. The assumptions of the study link various phenomenons depicted in the literature about PKW and an evaluation of their relative influence on the PKW efficiency is given. The role of the crests shape, the crests submersion, the nappes interactions, the crests approach conditions, the position of the control section and the head losses are analyzed. Design advices are also given.