Labyrinth weirs: Development until 1985

The weir is a fundamental structure in hydraulic engineering, serving to retain a water body, to control a water level, facilitate flow diversion, or to measure discharge. Under particular site conditions, the cross-sectional width at the weir location is limited so that either higher overflow depths or a compressed weir expansion are set. A form of the latter arrangement is the so-called labyrinth weir, which is composed of rectangular, trapezoidal or triangular plan shaped weirs, so that the geometrical crest length is increased. Along with the recently developed Piano Key Weir, labyrinth weirs represent economically and hydraulically sound alternative for increasing spillway discharge capacity. The present paper describes their historical development, reviews the main advances until the 1980s, summarizes current design guidelines, and presents the main individuals having participating in their development.