The article aims to be an introduction to the history of the wedge-shaped blocks technology. As it is well known, the WSBs protection system was born in the middle of 20th century in the former Soviet Union. Even though its basis of operation remains, relevant studies have been yielded in order to apply this kind of protection in real cases. Besides, direct application in several case studies has shed some light on practical difficulties and the need of new technical criteria to overcome them. Thus, applied research has been developed in countries such United Kingdom, USA, Portugal, and Spain, among others. The article consists of three parts. It commences with a brief summary of some relevant research and development studies. Afterwards, a description group of case studies of stepped block spillways is included. Finally, the article ends with a short compilation of the state of the art of the current design criteria.
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