PECULIAR PROBLEMS WITH WEIR GATES

B.T.A. SAGAR Chief Hydromechanical Engineer, ECI, a division of Frederic R. Harris, Inc., 5660 Greenwood Plaza Boulevard, Suite 500, Englewood, CO 80111 U.S.A e-mail: eciden@frharris.com

ABSTRACT Severe hydrodynamic problems on low-head weir gates are not common. But the writer came across two peculiar cases of hydrodynamic problems of surprising nature. In the first case, the gates were vibrating so severely as to shake and threaten the stability of the weir and the bridge. Investigating the causes and identifying the areas of turbulent flow which induced vibrations resulted in implementing simplified solutions. The bottom seal was replaced by a sharp rectangular vertical seal. The bottom shape of the gate was modified by providing a 45 degree converging plate enclosing the upstream gate members protruding into flow and, thus, preventing the flow disturbance. In the second case, a weir gate with top seal and orifice flow repeatedly tilted sideways during lowering operation under gravity at a particular gate position and got jammed. The cause could be identified as (a) change of flow from free fall to orifice type at the particular gate position causing sudden downpull force, and (b) unequal spring tightness on the wire ropes on either side of the gate. The remedial measures consisted of (a) changing the gate bottom shape to avoidd downpull, (b) replacing springs by turnbuckles on wire ropes, which can be tightened equally. INTRODUCTION In weir gates, which are in general lowhead type, severe hydrodynamic problems are not usually anticipated by the gate designers. However, the writer has recently come across some uncommon and surprising problems with such lowhead weir gates which were quite serious or alarming in their nature. But, when the source of the problems were identified, the solutions became simple and obvious. After the solutions were implemented, it was gratifying to report that the problems disappeared and the gates operated smoothly. In one weir, the fixed-wheel crest gate exhibited vibrations of such severity as to threaten the stability and safety of the concrete piers and the weir itself. In the other case, a weir gate unexpectedly tilted to one side during lowering at a particular gate position and got jammed. When the gate was levelled using hydraulic jacks, the gate went down with a bang. In both the installations, the gates were of the fixed-wheel type. A brief discussion about the installations, the problems and the solutions is presented in the following paragraphs.

WEIR GATE VIBRATIONS In this installation, there are seven gates, each 12 meters wide and 7.6 meters high. Each gate has a timber seal at the bottom fastened to a horizontal steel channel section under the skinplate protruding equally upstream and downstream. There are also steel channels located on the upstream side of the skinplate which are quite unusual for such gates in the modern design. Each gate is operated by individual chain and sprocket hoists. A concrete counterweight is provided at the opposite end of the chain and the hoist is operated by electric motor. When the gates were raised from the sill on the weir crest, all the gates exhibited vibrations of such severe nature as not commonly experienced in any weir installations. The vibrations shook the piers and the weir structure. The alarmed engineers attempted to tie all the piers together by providing heavy concrete horizontal framed structure of beams, which did not help. The foot bridge located on the piers shook so violently that people were afraid to walk on it. At this juncture, the writer was called upon to investigate the causes and find a solution. An examination of the design drawings revealed the following hydrodynamic causes of the vibrations: The flat bottom of timber seal caused flow separation and reattachment of jet resulting in impingement of the jet at spring and reattachment points. Such alternate impingement and reattachment of jet caused vibrations. In addition, low pressure pulsating zones are formed under the flat bottom of the timber seal contributing further to induce vibrations. Highly turbulent zones are formed due to the projecting channel sections on the upstream side of the skinplate which are other prominent contributors to flow induced gate vibrations.

Once the causes were identified, the solutions became clear. The bottom channel projection on the upstream side was cut. The bottom timber seal was replaced by a thin flat rubber seal fastened vertically below the skinplate. A 45 degree sloping plate was provided covering the upstream channel and guide the flow smoothly. Prior experiments have shown that in a converging flow 45 degree sloping plate ensured positive water pressures on the bottom plate surface throughout the converging flow and at all gate positions during operation and eliminated formation of low pressure zones. The above measures and modifications had to be implemented in a very short time on partially raised gates with flood waters flowing underneath! The above measures eliminated gate vibrations completely and successfully. WEIR GATE TILTING In this weir, there are two gates, one below the other. The upper gate, together with the flap, could be operated with the electric motor operated wire rope hoist without any problems.

The lower gate could also be raised without problems from its fully closed position. But, during the lowering operation, the 2-meter high gate went down smoothly until it lowered by 1.6 meters. At this location, the gate suddenly tilted to one side and consequently jammed. Automobile jacks were used to straighten or level it horizontally. When levelled, the gate shut rapidly with a bang. Repeated attempts were made in this manner. The gate behaved in the same manner every time. Certainly such phenomenon cannot be attributed to misalignment of gate frames, such as guides and tracks. A close examination of design drawings and gate hydraulics finally revealed the causes, which are primarily hydrodynamic in nature. At the bottom of the gate, an angle section is provided with a 100-mm-wide angle leg flush with the gate bottom. In addition, the gate bottom girder, which is an I-beam has its downstream bottom flange projecting downwards towards the flow which could contribute to formation of a confined low pressure turbulent zone under the beam web. These two factors contributed to a sudden downpull force of significant magnitude under the gate. Why does downpull occur suddenly? The lower gate closes an orifice type of opening. When the gate is fully open, due to the low head above the orifice, the jet falls down freely and does not hug the roof of the outlet which is typical behavior of low-pressure jet. As the gate is lowered, the head increases and at certain position, the jet is converted from free fall jet to an orifice type pressure jet with upper spring point at the upstream edge of bottom flat surface of gate. The jet expands or flares upwards to cause low pressure zones under the flat surface of the bottom angle as well as low pressure zone under the web of the gate bottom I-beam. This creates sudden downpull force when the gate lowered to a particular position, when the flow pattern changes from free fall to orifice flow. What caused the gate tilt? The wire rope of the hoist on each side of the gate winds around an idle pulley mounted on the gate and another idle pulley under the hoist bridge which is fastened to the bridge with a spring loaded pulley assembly. The springs could not be equally tightened, as the access rendered it difficult to accomplish such equal tightening of spring adjustment bolts. When the gate experienced sudden downpull force, the unequal tightness of the springs made them respond unequally to the downpull, which obviously made the gate tilt to one side and jam. Once the causes for the peculiar behavior of the gates were identified, it was easy to work out the remedial measures. 1. The bottom flat leg of the angle was cut off. 2. The bottom projecting flange of the bottom girder was cut off and reinforcement plates were welded on the remaining flange. 3. The springs were removed and replaced by rugged turn buckles as the springs always would have potential corrosion problems and unequal tightening problems. The gate operated smoothly after the above measures were implemented.