Nappe (water)

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The term 'Nappe when used in relation to hydro-engineering refers to the sheet of water over-topping a dam. It is an important issue in dam construction because unless air can be introduced into the nappe, the vibration of the water can lead to dam failure, as occurred in the Vajont Dam disaster in Italy in 1963.

Nappe vibration can be managed by flow splitters in the dam wall design.