Comparative Study of Inclined Baffle Configurations for Enhanced Energy Dissipation in Spillways

Controlling the energy of high-velocity flows downstream of spillways is critical to ensure structural stability and to minimize erosion. This research explores the effectiveness of various baffle block configurations, with a particular focus on inclined T-shape and stepped shape designs, for energy dissipation in stilling basins. Using ANSYS Fluent as the primary simulation platform, a series of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses were conducted. The study evaluates how inclined baffle block geometry influence hydraulic jump formation and energy dissipation. Standard turbulence models and the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method were applied to simulate multiphase, open-channel flows. The numerical models were validated with experimental data to ensure accuracy.The results showed that the inclined baffle blocks, especially the convergent T-shaped configurations, achieved higher energy loss and provided greater stability in flow conditions compared to traditional vertical or trapezoidal blocks. The T-shaped baffle block is also inclined to various angles and shows that energy loss increases with increase in angles. The comparative study between inclined T-shape and stepped shape is carried out which shows that convergent stepped shape baffle block gives 24.7 % more energy dissipation when compared to T- shape baffle blocks.The research concludes that geometric refinement of baffle structures can substantial enhance the performance of stilling basins in spillway systems.