EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF AIR ENTRAINMENT TO ALLEVIATE CAVITATIONS FOR CHUTE WITH HIGH-SPEED DISCHARGE

By 1∶40 integral hydraulic model tests, the law of air entrainment to alleviate cavitation for a base aerator and a lateral aerator of a chute is studied. The results show that the length of bottom cavity is parabolic with the discharge per unit width, and the critical discharge depends on the emergence angle. The ventilation volume of a vent is quadratic with the discharge per unit width; the aeration rate coefficient is not a constant, decreasing with the increase of flow turbulence. The air concentration increases significantly with the lateral aerator, protecting the sidewall of the chute, and the soleplate as well.