Low cost solutions for heightening

small reservoirs in Vietnam

M. Ho Ta Khanh, VNCOLD
Dr. Truong Chi Hien, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT)
Mai Chi, Department of Irrigation of the Binh Thuân Province, MARD

Abstract
Vietnam has many small reservoirs used essentially for irrigation. For several reasons, it may be interesting to
increase their capacity if this change can be done at a low cost.
For many years, Hydrocoop has proposed some innovative solutions such as P.K weirs and concrete fuse plugs
of different types which can be placed on the top of fixed weir and which can solve this problem.
These solutions present many advantages:
- automatic functioning without any electro-mechanical device, and then very safe,
- no expensive maintenance,
- low cost in investment, in particular for concrete fuse plugs,
- can be easily adapted to existing structures,
- can be easily constructed in developing countries with low labour cost and technology (no
patent).
Vietnam, as many other countries worldwide, has performed since 2002 laboratory tests on P.K weirs and fuse
plugs to better appraise their functioning, to compare the calculated and measured values and to try to know the
main parameters which control the system.
In this paper, the authors describe the different tests and results of their research in the Hydraulic Laboratory of
the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and give also some other information about the projects they are
now contemplating in the Binh Thuan province where the heightening of some existing small reservoirs are
foreseen.

1. Introduction
Vietnam is under the dependence of the monsoon, with marked wet and dry seasons, and its main cultivation is
rice. To increase this production, it is necessary to improve the irrigation of the arable lands thanks to dams and
reservoirs.
Vietnam has consequently many small dams devoted to irrigation but some of them need to be heightened for the
following reasons:
- increase of irrigated areas on new reclaimed lands: irrigated rice and maize fields can produce
two or three crops each year,
- loss of capacity of some existing small reservoirs due to silting,
- increase of the check floods considering the too low values adopted formerly.

For many years, Hydrocoop has proposed some innovative solutions such as P.K weirs and concrete fuse plugs
of different types which can be placed on the top of fixed weir to increase the capacity of reservoirs or the
capacity of the spillways.
These solutions present many advantages:
- automatic functioning without any electro-mechanical device, and then very safe,
- no expensive maintenance,
- low cost in investment, in particular for concrete fuse plugs,
- can be easily adapted to existing structures,
- can be easily constructed in developing countries with low labour cost and technology (no
patent),
- not sensitive to possible negligence or theft, as with flashboards for example.
The definition of the different types of PK weirs and the main results of the laboratory tests carried out in several
countries (Algeria, China, France, India, Vietnam) are provided in many publications (references 1, 5 and 8) and
are not recalled here.

2. Tests in the Hydraulic Laboratory of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology
Vietnam, as many other countries worldwide, has performed since 2002 laboratory tests on P.K weirs and fuse
plugs to better appraise their functioning, to compare the calculated and measured values and to try to know the

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main parameters (nappe depth versus discharge, nappe depth versus size of the plugs, ....) which control the
system.
In the following paragraphs, we only summarize the main results obtained in our laboratory tests as they are
already published in other papers (references 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7).

2.1 PK weirs Type A and B

The tests completed those already performed abroad but with some specific purposes to fit to the local needs:
- determination of precise discharge/nappe depth curves for the low values, corresponding to
small catchment areas with relatively low peak floods,
- research of economic shapes for the PK weirs in cooperation with Hydrocoop,
- study of submerged flows, in particular for the spillways installed in a channel. These last tests
show that the heightening of the upstream level is small even when the submergence of the PK
weir is relatively high,
- possibility of application to some Vietnamese dam projects.
Some of these results are indicated for example in the figures 1 to 3. The complete results and conclusions of
these tests are provided in the references 2, 4 and 6.

Figure 1: Examples of curves Q/H for different PK weirs type A (symmetrical), type B (upstream overhang) and a
traditional Creager weir [Q is in m3/s, N is the ratio between the overflowed length and the weir length]

F ree f lo w P K weir Type B1- T yp e B2

(Sc ale of mo d el - 25 )
4 00

3 50 Ty pe B 1 - N=5 . 5 -
P = 3 .7 5 m

T ype B 2 - N=4 . 0 -
3 00
P = 3 .7 5 m

2 50 Ty pe A N =5. 0 -
P= 5. 5 m

2 00

1 50

1 00

50 C re a ge r W e ir

0
0 0 .5 1 1 .5 2 2 .5 3 3 .5 4

H (m )

Figure 2: Example of the increase of the upstream level (H-H0) versus the difference of height between the downstream
level and the spillway crest of a PK weir (hn)

Curve A
0.6
0.5
0.4
H-Ho

0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
hn

The study of submerged P.K weirs indicated that, if the discharge coefficient decreases with the submergence, as
for a labyrinth weir, the upstream water level heightening due to the weir – for a given discharge - remains
relatively low, even for a high downstream level. The installation of a PK weir in a large canal for irrigation,
taking advantage of this characteristic, is envisaged in the South of Vietnam.

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 Figure 3: Examples of free overflow and submerged flow on a PK weir type A

2.2 Fuse plugs without uplift

These fuse plugs are simple blocks of concrete which tilt before being overflowed for a given elevation of the
reservoir. Their thickness is slightly different to allow their successive tilting. They can be used for example for
an additional emergency spillway. The main advantages of these fuse plugs are their simplicity of construction
and their very low cost.
The laboratory tests were performed in order to compare the calculated and the measured nappe depths when the
tilting occurs and to evaluate the precision of this parameter (reference 3).
The main results obtained are:
- if the upstream joint at the base of the plugs is not perfectly watertight, the uplift is small but
not completely nil,
- the hydrodynamic effect of the flow on a plug, when the adjacent blocks tilt, can be
neglected,
- there is a pretty good correlation between the calculated and the measured values of the
parameter but it cannot be determined with accuracy due mainly to the uncertainty on the real
value of the uplift and the water height just upstream the fuse plugs (see the 3rd photo of fig.
4).

The figure 4 shows the successive tilting of the different fuse plugs according to their thickness.

Figure 4: Example of the successive tilting of fuse plugs without uplift according to their thickness

2.3 Fuse plugs with uplift

These fuse plugs are simple blocks of concrete which tilt after being overflowed for a given elevation of the
reservoir. Their thickness is slightly different to allow their successive tilting. To avoid the disturbance of the
tilting of a fuse plugs on the adjacent ones, it was installed a separating wall between them.
These fuse plugs can be used to augment the capacity of a reservoir without an increase of the Maximal Water
Level (MWL) and the crest level of the dam, to keep the same safety for the dam.
The main advantages of these fuse plugs are their simplicity of construction and their very low cost.

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The laboratory tests were performed in order to compare the calculated and the measured nappe depths when the
tilting occurs and to evaluate the precision of this parameter (reference 7).
The main results obtained are:
- if the entrance at the base of the plug is not clogged and the seepage of the bottom chamber is
not too large, the assumption of a total uplift under the plug is justified,
- the hydrodynamic effect of the flow on a plug, separated from the adjacent blocks by a wall,
can be neglected,
- for a block with a thickness larger than its height, an uniform vertical pressure ~ 0.60 H (H is
the nappe depth just upstream the plug) is applied on the plug when it is overflowed,
- there is a good correlation between the calculated and the measured values of the nappe depth
when the tilting occurs (better than for the fuse plugs without uplift).
The figure 5 shows the successive tilting of the different fuse plugs according to their thickness.

Figure 5: Example of the tilting of the fuse plugs with uplift

3. Application to some small reservoirs in the Binh Thuân Province

3.1 General
The Binh Thuân province, in Central Vietnam, located about 200 km North of Ho Chi Minh City, knows
abundant rains during the wet season but also frequent droughts during the dry season. It receives now more
water due to the recent installation of some large hydro power plants diverting the flows of the Dong Nai River
and its tributaries to the coastal region. The construction of new reservoirs, or the increase of the capacity of the
existing ones, is then necessary to take advantage of this inflow. The main cultivations of this region are: rice,
maize and dragon fruits.
The figure 6 shows the map around the provincial capital (Phân Thiêt) and the existing reservoirs for irrigation.

Figure 6: Map showing the existing reservoirs around Phân Thiêt in the Binh Thuân province

The capacities of these reservoirs, created by embankment dams, are generally too small: the water overspills
very often during the rainy season although it is insufficient during the dry season. The spillways consist
generally of free overflow weirs. The different dams are dispersed and remote, with difficult access, with few
technicians for their operation. The silting in the reservoirs is certainly important but is not exactly measured.
All the farmers and the local authorities wish to heighten these reservoirs but their capacity of funding is low. A
heightening of the dykes is relatively costly, as they are not high but sometime pretty long.
For these reservoirs, the maximum possible heightening is however low (around 1 m) due to the:

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 - limited annual inflow and the small catchment areas,
- limited cultivable land in some sectors,
- resettlement issues.
The table 1 shows the existing small reservoirs in the Binh Thuân province for which a heightening was
contemplated.

Table 1: Characteristics of some small reservoirs for irrigation in the Binh Thuân province with a possibility of heightening

Ta Mon Tân Lâp Suoi Da Saloun Song Dinh

Physical Data
Catchment area (km2) 16.6 2.6 51.5 12 13.5
Annual inflow (F=75%) (hm3) 5.52 0.67 11.66 6.39 5.88
Design Flood (m3/s) 86 - 317 150 ?
Check Flood (m3/s) 107 - - 161 200

Reservoir
FSL (m) 46.00 43.95 46.00 439.00 100.85
MWL (m) 46.83 45.10 - 441.00 102.13
Volume at FSL (hm3) 0.564 0.855 - 0.962 0.457
Volume at FSL+1m (hm3) 0.835 - - 1.137 0.620
Dam
Crest level (m) 47.80 46.00 - 442.10 103
Crest length (m) 850 - - 375 406.20
H max (m) 9.20 10.06 - 19.50 10.8

Spillway
Length (m) 70 15 100 30 25
Crest level (m) 46.00 43.95 46.00 439.00 100.85
Discharge at MWL (m3/s) 72.80 24.00 317 161 51.3

Probable type of raising Fuse plugs/flashboards Fuse plugs/flashboards Fuse plugs/flashboards Fuse plugs Fuse plugs

3.2 The heightening of the Saloun reservoir

The main features of the Saloun scheme are indicated here above. Its characteristics correspond typically to the
issues generally encountered by the small reservoirs of the Binh Thuân province. The size of the dam was
initially limited by lack of funding.
The heightening of the Saloun reservoir, by means of fuse plugs with uplift, was adopted as the first example of
this type of work because it fits the best to the conditions of the problem: reliable data, remoteness of the site, no
operator on the site, existing spillway weir requiring only small adaptation, very low cost.
The figures 6 and 7 show the dam and the spillway respectively.

Figure 6: The Saloun embankment dam Figure 7: The present Saloun spillway

To allow to replace very easily and quickly the over turned fuse plugs, and also to avoid heavy blocks which can
deteriorate the spillway and its channel, it was decided to use only short fuse plugs (L<1m). The lightest plugs
(W= 1.5 t) are prefabricated and stored on the site. They are installed on the weir, just after the floods, by means
of a manual winch suspended to a footbridge.
The project consist in the installation of 3 groups of 10 concrete blocks, of 0.80 m high and with a US/DS length
of 1.10 m, 1.25 m and 1.35 m for each group, in order to get a progressive overturning of these 3 groups for
floods varying between 43 m3/s (7-year flood) and 114 m3/s (design flood = 150 m3/s), the MWL being not
changed compared with the present situation, then with the same safety.The heightening of 0.80 m corresponds
to the required increase of the reservoir capacity to allow the irrigation of the possible additional arable land
downstream the dam. The project will allow having several crops of rice and maize every year.

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The figures 8 and 9 show the project’s sketches.

Figure 8: ½ Plan view of the future spillway Figure 9: Cross section of the future spillway

The total cost of the heightening of the Saloun reservoir is about 10 000 USD. An economic study, taking into
account all the factors for the development of this new cultivated area, indicated that with the increase of the
production of maize and rice on this reclaimed land, the profitability of this project is very high since the B/C is
equal to 1.47 and the EIRR equal to 17.8%.

8. Conclusion
The heightening of small reservoirs for irrigation in Vietnam is probably very profitable if it can be carried out
very safely and economically. The use of PK weirs and fuse plugs, with and without uplift, proposed by
Hydrocoop can be an interesting solution. A test is presently in construction for the Saloun scheme in the Binh
Thuân province. Our studies show that the use of fuse plugs with uplift present many advantages for this project.
The return of experience will indicate if this solution could be extended in the future to other reservoirs in the
country.

References
1. Lempérière. F, Ouamane. A, “The Piano Keys weir: a new cost-effective solution for spillways”, Hydropower &
Dams, Issue Five, 2003.
2. Truong Chi Hien, Ho Ta Khanh. M, “Report on P.K weir (type A) Model Test”, Ho Chi Minh City University of
Technology, July 2005.
3. Truong Chi Hien, Ho Ta Khanh. M, “Report on fuse gate model test” (without uplift), Ho Chi Minh City University
of Technology, May 2006
4. Truong Chi Hien, Ho Ta Khanh. M, “Results of some P.K weir (type A) hydraulic model tests in Vietnam”, 22nd
ICOLD, Q87, R39, Barcelona, June 2006.
5. Lempérière. F, Vigny. J.P, “Dam Safety and Low Cost Spillway Designs”, 5th International Conference on Dam
Engineering, Lisbon, Feb.2007.
6. Truong Chi Hien, Ho Ta Khanh. M, “Hydraulic model studies of the P.K weir type B”, Ho Chi Minh City University
of Technology, May 2007.
7. Truong Chi Hien, Ho Ta Khanh. M, “Hydraulic model studies of the concrete fuse plugs with uplift”, Ho Chi Minh
City University of Technology, Sept.2007.
8. Lempérière. F, Vigny J.P, “Cost-Effective Ways to Increase Discharge Capacity at Spillways”, HRW, December2007.

The Authors

M.Ho Ta Khanh, graduated of Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (Paris), has worked for 35 years as specialist in Dam
Engineering in Electricité de France (EDF). He participated to more than 85 dam projects in France and abroad. He is
Member of the French Committee on Dams and Reservoirs (CFBR) and of the Vietnam National Commission on Large
Dams (VNCOLD).

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Dr Truong Chi Hien, PhD of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), is the Chief of the Hydraulic
Laboratory of this University.

Mai Chi, graduated of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), is the Chief of the Irrigation Department
of the Binh Thuân Province (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam).