Debris- and ice-skimming booms at riverside diversions

Hydraulic-design guidelines are presented for deploying debris- and ice-ski mming booms at riverside diversions such as water intakes for thermal power stations, municipal water-supply facilities, and irrigation canals. Based on laboratory-flume tests and boom literature, the guidelines aim to reduce debris passage into and accumulations at diversions. Important design vari ables include boom distance out from the diversion entrance, boom orientati on to the diversion, and boom draft. Optimal deployment of skimming booms i s related to the flow field at riverside diversions. The flume tests establ ished how these variables influence the physical processes governing skimmi ng-boom performance, and they led to recommendations on effective deploymen t of straight and bent booms for debris flushing. Bent booms, which compris e two segments tone angled from upstream and one parallel to the diversion) , are the more effective boom type for wider ranges of river and diversion flows.