Le développement historique des cascades et fontaines en gradins

Historical Development of Stepped Cascades and Fountains

Maître de Conférences en Mécanique des Fluides, Hydraulique et Sciences de l'Environnement, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australie

Abstract

In fountain and cascade design, a stepped geometry is particularly interesting for the large amount of water splashing and 'white waters'. In the historical development of stepped cascades, the Romans and later the Muslims developed a strong expertise which lead to the superb Mughal and French Great Cascades. Surprisingly, there has been very few exchange of idea and infonnation between landscape designers and hydraulic engineers since then. Over the past 800 years, stepped cascades and stepped spillways were developed completely separately despite similar size and hydraulic characteristics.