Lut Is 4622 : 2003 Recommendations for Structural - Structural Design of Fixed-Wheel Gates fee Is 4623 : 2000 Recommendations for Structural Design of Radial Gates Led |S 5620 : 1985 Recommendations for Structural Design Criteria for Low Head Slide Gates 1S 6938 : 1989 Code of practice for design of rope drum and chain hoists for hydraulic gates 1S 7326 : Part 1 : 1992 Penstock and turbine inlet butterfly valves for hydropocwer stations and systems: Part 1 Criteria for structural and hydraulic design 1S 7326 : Part 2 : 1992 Penstock and turbine inlet butterfly valves for hydropower stations and systems: Part 2 Guidelines for design and selection of control equipment 1S 7326 ; Part 3 : 1976 Penstock and turbine inlet butterfly valves for hydropower stations and systems: Part 3 Recommendations for operations and maintenance IS 7332 : Part 1 : 1994 Spherical Valves for Hydropower Stations and Systems - Part 4 : Criteria for Structural and Hydraulic Design IS 7332 : Part 2 : 1993 Spherical valves for hydropower stations and systems: Part 2 selection of control equipment 1S 7332 : Part 3: 1994 Spherical valves for hydropower stations and systems: Part 3 Recommendations for operation and maintenance of spherical valves 187718: 1981 Recommendations for inspection, testing and maintenance of fixed wheel and slide gate 1S 9349 : 1986 Recommendations for structural design of medium and high head slide gates IS 10021 : 2000 Guidelines for De-icing System for Hydraulic Installations IS 40036 : Part 1 : Sec 1 : 1983 Recommendations for inspection, testing and maintenance of radial gates and their hoists: Part 4 Inspection, testing and assembly at the manufacturing stage Section 1 Gates IS 10096 : Part 1 : Sec 2 : 1986 Recommendations for inspection, testing and maintenance of radial gates and their hoists: Part 1 Inspection, testing and assembly at the manufacturing stage Section 2 Rope Drum Hoists IS 10096 : Part 2 : 1983 Recommendations for inspection, testing and maintenance or radial gates and their hoists: Part 2 Inspection, testing and assembly at the time of erection IS 10096 : Part 3 : 2002 Recommendations for Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Radial Gates and Rope Drum Hoists - Part 3: After Erection 1S 10210 : 1893 Criteria for Design of Hydraulic Hoists for Gates 1S 11228 : 1985 Recommendations for design of screw hoists for hydraulic gates IS 11793 : 1986 Guidelines for design of float-driven hoisting mechanism for automatic gatad control IS 11855 : 2004 Guidelines for Design and Use of Different Types of Rubber Seals for Hydraulic Gates IS 43041 : 1991 Recommendation for inspection, testing and maintenance of hydraulic hoist (After Erec IS 12691 ; 1992 Criteria for design of iting beams IS 19623 : 1993 Criteria for choice of gates and hoists, IS 14177 ; 1994 Guidelines for painting system for hydraulic gates and hoists IS 15466 : 2004 Rubber Seals for Hydraulic Gates - Specification (S 2062:1999 steel for general Structural Purposes-SpecificationPage 1 of 1 file://C:\}Documents%20and%20Settings\liji\My%20Documents\Hydromechanical%20w... 21/02/2007TR Subate GOVERNMENT OF INDIA “CENTRAL WATER COMMISSION GATES DESIGN(NW&S) DIRECTORATEmoots FOREWORD The hydraulic gates form a very vital component in any project in the Water Resources Sector for controlling the flows through the dams and outlets. The hydraulic design of gates perhaps is a great challenge to the engineers engaged in planning, design, maintenance and operation of gates, more so in case of regulating gates. Any deficiency in the procedures of evolving a suitable design of a regulating gate may lead to a problematic, hazardous and catastrophic situation. ‘There have been numerous incidents in the World, in which the gates have malfunctioned sometimes with disastrous results. The major causes of many such incidents and failures are attributed to faulty hydraulic design, maintenance or improper operation, especially in case of high head gates. The difficulties of developing trouble-free high head outlet gates are evidenced by the fact that hundreds of model studies have already been undertaken and still are being carried out to assess the hydraulic behaviour of the gates and allied structures. In this Report, a constructive attempt has been made to analyse the effects of various parameters on hydraulic design and to compile complete information on hydraulic design considerations needed for design of various types of gates. The material presented here is based on the design practices followed in the Central Water Commission supplemented with feedback on performance and eachange of views with International experts. The “Guidelines for hydraulic design of gates” as it has developed in the Central Water Commission over the last five decades have been brought out. The report has been authored by S/Shri DK Mehta, Director and Harkesh Kumar, Deputy Director under the overall guidance of Shri KS Bhatia, Chief Engineer (Designs). Their initiative and effort is highly appreciated. I am sure this report will be well received and found useful by all engineers engaged in planning, design & operation of hydraulic gates’ and I also hope that by adhering to. guidelines and criteria formulated in this report, a number of basic hydraulic design problems can be avoided in future’ projects. New Delhi April, 2003CONTENTS SECTION DESCRIPTION OF ITEM PAGE NO To INTRODUCTION 1 20 NEED FOR HYDRAULIC DESIGN OF GATES 2 3.0 FACTORS GOVERNING HYDRAULIC DESIGN OF GATES 2 3.1 GATE SLOT 3 3.2 GATELIP 3 3.3. AERATION 3 3.4 HYDRODYNAMIC FORCES 3 40 CONSEQUENCES OF A DEFICIENT HYDRAULIC DESIGN 4 4.1 | CAVITATION 4 42 VIBRATION 4 4.3 NON-CLOSURE / NON-RAISING OF GATE 5 44 AIRENTRAPMENT 5 ( 45 CATAPULTING OF GATES 5 5.0 DEVELOPMENT OF GATES FOR OUTLETS 5 60 ‘TYPES OF OUTLET GATES 6 6.1 SLIDE GATES 6 62 TOP-SEAL RADIAL GATES 7 63 JET FLOW GATES 7 64 FIXED-WHEEL GATES 7 7.0 HYDRAULIC DESIGN FEATURES OF GATES 8 7.1 GATE SLOT 8 72° GATELIP 9 7.4 HYDRODYNAMIC FORCES 12 7.4.1 DOWNPULL ANALYSIS 4 7.4.2: REMEDIAL MEASURES 1s ¢ - 73 SEAL DESIGN 16 80 DESIGN GUIDELINES 18 8.1. GATE SLOT 18 82 GATELIP 18 83 AERATION 19 8.4 HYDRODYNAMIC FORCES 20 8.9 SEAL DESIGN 20 ‘REFERENCES 42 ii)HYDRAULIC DESIGN OF GATES - GUIDELINES 10 INTRODUCTION With the advent of planned development in the field of Irrigation, Power & Flood Control in the post - independence era, several dams have been. planned, designed and constructed in the country. To derive the maximum benefit from any project in the Water Resources Sector in an economical manner, controlled releases and utilisation of water from the reservoir is of immense’importance, For controlling the flows through the dams, tunnels, penstocks or outlets for purposes of irrigation, domestic use, flood control, navigation and power, the-hydraulic gates form the most vital component. Gate works form a very small component of the total cost of the project, but they are one of the most crucial parameters in determining the success of the project. ‘With the technological developments in the design and construction of Dam Engineering, progressively larger, higher and more complicated hydraulic structures are being built aroind she world, The size of outlets and intakes are also becoming progressively larger and the operating heads are increasing, With the increase in size, head and discharge, the complexities associated with gate structures have also incieased manifold. The structural design ofa gate of any type, size and operating head can be tackled with relative ease; but the hydraulic design and the problems encountered during operation are of paramount significance for a gate designer, more so in the éase of regulating gates. Again the hydraulic design of a low head gate (i.e. gates operating under a head of <15m) does not present any serious problem to the designer, but the magnitude of problems intrease exponentially as the size and operating heads on gates increase progressively. Hence, the hydraulic design of a “high head gate” is a challenging and complex exercise. ‘There are certain variations in practices being followed in various countries & standard references, while defining as to what minimum operating head should constitute a “high head gate”, the variation being from 15m to 30m. As per Indian Standards, gates designed for ‘operation at heads greater than 15m are-characterised as medium head gates, and those with heads > 30m are called high head gates. But, in the following discussions, “High Head Gate” has been taken 10 include all types of gates that are required to withstand and operate under heads greater than 15m and thus this study also includes medium head gates as per Indian Standards, H One of the major causes of failures and malfunctioning of several hydraulic sfructures around the world has been direcily or indirectly attributed to faulty hydraulic design or improper operation of gates. Phenomenon of cavitation and vibration in and around the high head gate threatens the very safety of the hydraulic stricture. Therefore, measures should be evolved at planning and design stago itself to control, if not eliminate, the hazardous consequences by ‘making such hydro-dynamic alignments and layouts along the flow path and in the gate body ‘which assuie a positive pressure or at least reduce the negative pressure as much as possible ‘The report discusses the factors goveming hydraulic design of gates, the development of gales for outlets, types of outlet gates suitable for high head applications and hydraulic design features of gates. Based on these discussions, suitable guidelines have been drawn for aiding the gate designer, while planning and designing a new structure or at the time of working out ‘emedia! measures for a malfunctioning gated structure2.0 NEED FOR HYDRAULIC DESIGN OF GATES No categorical rules can be formulated to evolve the hydraulic design of a gate that will ideally integrate the best entrance shapes and trouble-free operation forall probable conditions. ‘The most difficult part in design of outlet gates is to cater to requirements of hydraulics, especially for high head gates. During recent years, empirical approach to solution of hydraulic problems has been gradually replaced by mathematical formulations, based on fundamental Physical concepts of fluid mechanics. But the parameters involved are numerous and their effects on design are not clearly understood. Hydraulic model studies and review of proto-type are often necessary to arrive at prudent design decisions. During operation, the gates are subjected not only to very high static water loads but also the dynamic loading condition which becomes much more challenging, In addition to high horizontal thrust, the. gate has also to cater to complex flow conditions. This results in development of sub-atmospheric pressures in the gate body and its surroundings causing cavitation, vibration and hydrodynamic forces, comprising downpull & uplift forces. All these complexities pose problems in design of gate, gate slot, hoisting arrangement, bonnet, air vent, sealing arrangement etc (For explanation see Fig 1). The inlet shapes ‘of the conduit and its alignment, smoothness of fluid path and profile of conduit downstream of gate slot are critical factors, which also have a direct bearing on the performance of a high head gate Despite adequate care in design, fabrication, installation, inspection and operation of gates, many failures/malfunctioning have taken place. These are primarily not because of any lapse but mainly due to uncertainties in evaluating the forces, which affect these structures in dynamic conditions and as such their behaviour. The actual behaviour is known only when ‘observed in prototype. Generally the method adopted for assessing the forces and flow behaviour is to first design an outlet structute, gate, gate slot, air vent and hoist etc, based on the existing theory, formulations, practices, past experience, and then construct a model of the same on a reduced scale in a laboratory and test under similar flow conditions, The past experience Svhen correlated with the theory and findings of the model studies helps in developing a better design, and make necessary improvements in structures such that the problems are reduced to & large extent, if not eliminated. ‘The basic requirements of a good hydraulic design should be to secure the following conditions: i) The flow of water past various components of the gate is streamlined as far as possible. If any eddies or vortices cannot be avoided, attempts are to be made to form them away from the vulnerable parts of the gate. ii) The pressures are kept positive to the extent possible. If negative pressures are unavoidable, their magnitude is kept small so that cavitation damage is avoided. ii) Gate vibrations are kept to a minimum, ‘The above requirements are generally inter-dependeat but can occur independent of each other also. Inadequacies in fulfilling the above requirements exhibits at a later stage in the form of vibrations in tho gate operation or damage by cavitation or structural failure. “Tho important factors governing the hydraulic design of a high head gate are covered in the following Sub-Sections,34 Gate Slot ‘The presence of gate slot disrupts the smooth boundary lines of fluid flows resulting in separation at the flow boundaries thus forming negative pressure zones or pockets. The pressure int these pockets can very often be so low as 10 cause severe cavitation damage (See Fig 2). The basic problems involved are (i) spreading of jets and (ii) flow separation. The problem becomes much more severe when the water velocity past these slots is high. To minimise such damage, {the slots should be designed in such a way that local low pressure zone, which results in ‘cavitation, is not allowed to be formed near the slot. ‘This can be achieved by shifting away the [stagnation point further downstream from gate slot. Also, the gate slot size must be kept to a (rintmur to minimise disruption of low and thercby the cavitation damage, Recommendations for design of gate slots are available which should be studied carefully and adopted as per requirements. The detailed hydraulic design features and guidelines for ‘gate slot’ are presented in Sections 7.1 & 8.1 respectively. 32. Gate Lip One of the major causes of vibration and cavitation in case of high head outlet gates is the separation of flow and its shifting tendency below the gate bottom (See Fig 3a). Therefore, it is very important that bottom lip of gate is shaped in such a way that pressure on it is always positive, The best choice is the one which produces considerable contraction of the jet and at the same time prevents separation prior to the end of the lip. Different botiom gate lip shapes have been adopted, provided and tested. Fig 3b illustrates standard gate bottom lip shape. The hydraulic design features and guidelines for “gate lip’ are presented in Sections 7.2 & 8.2 respectively. 33 Aeration Importance of aeration in conduit flows to prevent cavitation and vibration has been recognised, though lately. It has been found that outlet structures which suffered severe cavitation erosion earlier are now functioning satisfactorily after proper aeration. Supply of air downstream of the gate prevents occurrence of sub-atmospheric pressures and thus reduces the risk of destructive cavitation and dangerous vibrations. Various formulac and charts to determine the requirement of air have been evolved based on mode! studies/field measurements and the designer should use them in preliminary sizing of the air vent pipes but however they should be checked on a model, if past experience of a similar installation is not available, It should also be noted that their orientation and connection with the conduit may affect the effectiveness of the air-vents. The hydraulic design features and guidelines for ‘aeration’ are presented in Sections 7.3 & 8.3 respectively. 7 34 Hydro-dynamic Forces In addition to the hydrostatic forces, gates are subjected to hydrodynamic forces in the form of downpull and uplift depending upon the flow conditions and the geometry of the gate, bonnet, slot, seals and conduit. During operation of a gate, water passing beneath a gate leaf creates a reduced pressure due to change in the direction of flow and a change in energy from pressure head to velocity head. The reduced pressure acts on the bottom of the gate and there is also certain water pressure on the top of the gate. This condition causes unbalanced water pressure resulting in development of hydro-dynamic forces (See Fig 4). The downward hydro- dynamic force caused by unbalanced water pressure above and below the gate leaf is called “Downpull”. Under certain operating conditions, it may be negative indicating an “Uplift”.‘Some authors have come out with certain charts/formulae for determining hydro-dynamic forces but they can be predicted more accurately by carrying out model studies. The forces thus derived are adopted in design of gate/hoist and hoisting arrangement, The hydraulic design features and ‘guidelines for assessment of hydro-dynamic forces are presented in Sections 7.4 & 8.4 respectively 4.0 CONSEQUENCES OF A DEFICIENT HYDRAULIC DESIGN Incorrect or inadequate analysis of ab ove stated hydraulic factors (See section 3) can lead to hazardous consequences during operation of.a high head gate, as brought out in the following sub-sections, along with general measures to be adopted for mitigating such problems. 4.1 Cavitation Separation of flow leading to creation of low pressure zone is the root cause of cavitation. Providing proper shape to gate bottom, streamlining of gate slots and adequate provision of air helps in reducing the problem of cavitation, Provision of steel or stainless steet lining in the conduit and gate slots, smoothness of conduit surfaces and a judicious operation of gates help minimising the cavitation damage. 42° Vibration Gate is a light metallic hydraulic structure which is liable to have flow-induced vibration problems. Many typical examples of gate vibration have been reported in the past, several of which led to serious accidents Main causes of vibration are identified as separation of flow, shifting of separation point, turbulence beneath the gate bottom, inadequate aeration and variable component of bydro- dynamic forces. Proper design of gate bottom lip, adequate aeration and leak proof-ness of the gate goes a long way in minimising the vibration problems. It is desirable to go in for gates, ‘which are less susceptible to vibration, particularly for those regulating structures, which could be prone to vibration tendencies. Based on the prototype observations, model studies and past experience, following measures are aciantad to reduce oate vibration problems: = Optimise the configuration of the gated structure and streamline the How pattern around the gate. F Check the strength and rigidity of the gate structure thereby obtaining the natural frequency of the gate, which is preferably to be Kept far away from the resonance frequency of the dynamic force of the flow thus eliminating flow-induced vibrations. Fe Proper design of gate seals. = Adopting @ hydraulic hoist arrangement for high head regulating gates, thereby providing damping effect against vibration during gate operation or partial opening. S Providing suitably designed ‘Snubbers’ of rubber (neoprene) material for controlling tate vibrations in the direction of flow, in case of fixed-wheel gates operated by rope-dram hoists. ~ Providing suitably designed air vent and air entrainment device, thus preventing or reducing cavitation, vibration as well as noise.43 Non-closure/ Non-raising of gates ‘There are several instances where the gates do not sit on the sill leading to constant leakage from gate. ‘The reason for the same could be inadequate assessment of uplift forces. As 1 practice; 20% reserve capacity of hoist is kept both during the lifting as.well as lowering cycles. However, if the gate does not close, the causes should be analysed and checked if all the forces likely to occur have been accounted for or not. There are also other case histories of gated installations where the hoists become incapable of lifting out the-gate due to inadequate assessment of downpull forces. Jn this context, it may be brought out that in general non-closure is pre-dominant for such gates which are equipped with upstream skin plate and upstream sealing, whereas downstream sealing gates with downstream/upstream skin plate can create problems in raising cycle. 44 Air Entrapment ‘There are instances where extraneously induced vibrations have arisen due to multi- phases flows (ie. flow of air water mixture). Whenever there is flow of an ait-water mixture through the conduit, the agglomerations of air bubble or generation of large air pockets can occur. Under certain operating conditions of geted outlets, air cushions can form under the horizontal roof in the. gate chamber, which will blow-out from time to time into the air vent leading to pressure fluctuations behind the gate. Such phenom ..1a can be controlled by suitably sloping the roof of the conduit. ‘There is also a reported case history where flat bulkhead gate placed at the top of the vertical shaft of the intake had got dislodged because of deficient layout of air vent exit and improper seating arrangement of bulkhead which led to compression of the trapped air below the bulkhead gate. The problem was remedied by taking the air vent pipe above the maximum reservoir level and by modifying the bottom seating such that there is no space below the bulkhead for entrapment ofthe air 45 — Catapulting of Gates Catapulting of gates has been reported in Penstock Intake gate installations using Fixed- ‘wheel gates with upstream skin plates and upstream seal. During Penstock filling with Fixed- wheel gates by crack-opening, usually 75mm to 100mm, the water pressure on gate top is much smaller as compared to upward water pressure exerted on the gate bottom due to quick filling of Penstock. The sudden upward pressure can cause the gate to catapult. The size of gate well, penstock filling rato, type of hoist and speed of closure of wicket gales are critical factors in this regard. 8.0 DEVELOPMENT OF GATES FOR OUTLETS ‘The earliest type of outlet gates were of cast iron slide type operated by screw stem hoists. The gates had relatively wider slots and flat bottom and had given satisfactory operating service for heads upto sbout 20m, but for higher operating heads; severe cavitation, vibration and hydro-dynamic forces were observed. In order to avoid such problems, the designers provided outlets at different levels in the dams so that the operational heads would be limited to about 20m that obviously was not an economic solution. This compelled the gate designers to investigate the causes of the hydraulic problems by means of hydraulic model studies. The o5timportance of correct shape of gale bottom and dimensioning of gate slots was recognised. The importance of providing adequate aeration not only to prevent cavitation but also to minimise vibration was understood, Over the last few decades, the gate designers have continuously evolved different types of gates suitable for high head operation, Some designs have become obsolete due to operational problems, whereas other types have been improved for trouble-free performance with the aid of model studies. Progressive improvements andl developments have led to the modem day outlet gates. 60 TYPES OF OUTLET GATES While making selection of the type of gate for outlet works, it should first be established whether the discharge is in air or under submerged conditions. Outlet gates designed for froe discharge in atmosphere are less complex and should never be subjected to submerged conditions during operation, While planning the layout of an outlet structure, efforts should be made to avoid any change in alignment of the conduit close to the gate location. Further, it is desirable to have at least two separate gated outlets for a particular service, except for low head and easily accessible outlets. 7 ‘Many types of high head outlet gates have been designed and built inthe past, but only a relatively few types have survived, those surviving are rugged, easy to maintain and economical to build. Slide gates, raclial gates and jet-flow gates are the only ones which are specifically Me ‘used for regulating and throtiling service. Wheel & roller mounted gates are generally used as fully opened or closed non- regulating gates because unlike slide, radial and jet-flow gates, they are not supported continuously and therefore are subject to vibrations. They are however, being tised for regulation under low head conditions with due considerations to gate bottom shape and slot size as related to hydrodynamics of flow, so as to minimise their relative instability at partial ‘openings. In modem designs, gates requiring positive push for closure are necessarily operated by hydraulic hoists, although some of the past installations of smaller magnitudes have been equipped with screw-hoist arrangements, Operation by hydraulic hoist also offers an advantage ‘of dampening the gate vibrations, particularly during part-gate operation in outlets and ensures satisfactory service. Operation of self-closing gates can be accomplished by rope drum type Ioists 6.1 Slide Gates Slide gates are the most common type which aré the simplest and most rugged and have = been used for many centuries. Earlier slide gates installations have suffered from severe \ cavitation and vibration problems in addition to excessive downpull. Past installations of slide ‘gales operated by screw-hoists have suffered damages due to vibrations. The modem day high hhead gate designs, arranged in very narrow slots, aro vsually provided with steel liners in the slot including on the upstream and downstream sides of the conduit to protect the concrete structure from high velocity turbulent flows, erosion and cavitation, and are operated by hydraulic hoists ‘These gates can be either bonnetted or unbonnetted. Bonnetted slide gates operated by hydraulic hoists have proved to be excellent for regulating service and are the usual choice for high head installations operating under either free or submerged conditions. Such gates should, however, rot be designed for operation with very small openings to minimise vibration problems. The hydraulic hoist is located in the hoist chamber just above gate’s fully open position. This type of gale can be considered for heads up to 150m or even 200m and for a cross-sectional area up £0 10m? Such gates are installed near the entrance of the outlet structures in case a gate shaft is planned, or they can be located inside the conduit for which provision of separate galleries is -6-nee gene ny oa e es required for access, For high head installations, it has become a common practice to provide two identical bonnetted slide gates in tandem in the conduits, such that the upstream gate functions as emergency gate (See Fig 1), Altematively, a self closing gate of Fixed-wheel type is adopted for emergency gate function, particularly in gate shafts 62 — Top- Seal Radial Gates ‘Top-seal radial gates operated by hydraulic hoists are being successfully used as outlet gates for regulating and throttling service for fairly large sized conduits (See Fig 5). The absence of gate slots renders the radial gates hydraulically more suitable for high head outlets. Such types of gates offer the advantage of higher coefficient of discharge: Such gates operated by the hydraulic hoists are conveniently and economically used for regulating service for heads upto 60 to 70m in fairly large conduits having widths upto 3-4m or even more and heights upto 10m, It should however be noted thal such gates require large space in the civil structure for installation and for accommodating the gate in raised position. The top seal arrangement in outlet radial gates requires very special attention, as two seals are to be necessarily provided, one attached to the gate to be effective in gate closed position and another fixed to the embedded parts of top seal to maintain continuous contact with upstream face of the stainless steel skin plate throughout the gate travel. 63 Jet-Flow Gates ‘The jet flow gate was developed in the mid forties by the ULS.B.R. These are basically slide gates installed in circular conduits. Their fundamental feature consists of an orifice formed by a 45? truncated conical nozzle in the conduit just upstream of the gate leaf (See Fig 6). The orifice constricts the flow into a circular jet which is deflected away from the gate slots. Such gates exhibit excellent Now regulation characteristics and possess proven ability to regulate discharges even under high heads without any serious cavitation or vibration problems and can be throttled to any degree, and are used as regulating gates either at the downstream end or at any intermediate point in the conduit. When placed at the end of the conduit, a jet-flow gate offers positive flow contro!_ a contracted jet type discharge with high discharge coeificien Such gates have successfully been deployed upto 150m head and upto 2.50m diameter. This type of gate has also proved to be. very successful in small sizes from 250 mm diameter upwards for regulating small discharges for meeting minimum stream flow requirements under heads upto 200m, 64 — Fixed-Wheel Gates Fixed-wheel gates are equipped with wheels on either side of gate leaf (See Fig 7), The wheeled gates normally require large slots to accommodate the wheels, which are undesirable from hydraulic considerations and are known to suffer from cavitation damage and severe vibration problems when used for high head regulating setvices. Fixed-wheel gates generally serve as Emergency gates for a conduit or penstock intake and are usually designed to close by gravity. Generally, such gates are installed at the face of the dam or af the entrance of the conduits or penstocks, or in the intake towers. Their application for regulating services should ideally be restricted to 15 io 20m operating heads. However, they could be used as guard of emergency gates for heads upto 120m.7.0 HYDRAULIC DESIGN FEATURES OF GATES Extensive hydraulic model studies and field studies on prototype structures in respect of various design parameters of high head gates for several Water Resources projects in the World have been conducted in the past and-are still being carried out, particularly for such installations where past experience /model study results are not available. The model studies have helped in understanding the peculiar flow phenomena at many gate installations during their operation Which led to an insight into the behaviour of the gate itself as well as other bate related structures, Several factors such as type of gate, shape and size of gate slots, lining of flow surfaces, shape of gate lip; location and size of air vent, hoist capacity and disposition of seal & skin plate etc. are closely associated with the overall hydraulic design of a high head gate. “The features of gate layout which need special study from hydraulic considerations are as follows: i) Gate Slot Gate lip Aeration iv) Hydrodynamic forces ¥) Seal Design ‘The description of the above stated features, their implications on hydraulic design and ‘current design practices are presented in the following Sub-sections. 7A Gate Slot In the following discussions, width (W) of a slot is along the direction.of flow_while depth (D) is across the flow (See Fig, 8). Except for the radial gates, gato slots are an unavoidable feature. The slot presents a discontinuity in the sides for the smooth passage of flow and is, therefore, prone to damage due to vortices and cavitation. As the head increases, the problems in the gate slots increase disproportionately. For Fixed-wheel gates, the slots are required to accommodate the entire ‘wheel and therefore, the slots become wider and deeper in comparison With those for slide gates for which only a part of the thickness of the gate leaf need be introduced in the slots and hence smaller stots sizes aro possible. The slots by virtue of their discontinuity produce vortices. because, I MOSK cases, LAE PIEDSUIE HMLAcadEs tapi Wrasse ow yornens 7 However, another aspect requiring attention of the gate designer is in respect of projecting elements of the embedded parts which create obstruction to the vortices restlfing ii eildies causing damage both in the form of cavitation and structural deformations. Another effect of a wider gate slot is the expansion of jet immediately as it travels past the upstream edge of the slot. By the time the flow reaches the downstream edge of the slot, the ‘width of opening available at this location becomes inadequate to accommodate the entire jet. ‘This has two effects. Firstly. the portion of the jet which is outside the conduit width hits the slot edges causing vortices and eddies, Secondly, the vortices in conjunction with the portion of jot within the conduit width cause a zone of negative pressure on the side walls of conduit immediately downstream of the downstream edge of the slot. “The progressive development of design of gate slot is shown in Fig 9. Originally the gate slot had right angled comers in the earlier installations, Subsequently, designers thought that rounding of the comers would improve the situation. The performance did improve, but not so much as desired, The modem trend is to have a taper approximately 1:10 to 1:12, and rounded comers of the slot at downstream, while the upstream edge is left to be sharp. With the taper -8-given to the portion on the downstream of the slot, the jet can be contained, with the result that by and large positive pressures are established on the sides. peaeeeeny In the process of design, firstly suitable type of slot is selected in relation to the operating head. The size of the slot is then determined on the basis of physical requirements of accommodating the end assembly of the gate leaf. From the standpoint of hydraulic design, ‘Types ‘3° and “A” are suitable for gates to be operated under heads exceeding 25m or the © velocity higher than 25 m/s, In general, the optimum Width/Depth (W/D) ratio of slot is in the range of 1.4 10 1.8, while in practice, higher W/D ratios are required to be adopted somnetiies. ‘The relative offset AWW of 0.075 to 0.10 and the chamfer slope A/X of 1:12 are generally recommended for the downstream comer of the gate slot. The radius of curvature of downstream comer *R’ es 0, (ie. R= 3.0 to 5.0em) is usually adequate. Another notable feature which helps in minimising the damaging effects of the vortex in the slot is the provision of liberal ventilation on the downstream. It has generally been ‘experienced that for the conduits where the downstream constriction exists, there is a greater damage to the slots. On the other hand, whéré the conduit’s cross-sectional area on the do®mstream is more than the gate area and preferably increases as the flow proceeds, the vortex effects subside. 72 Gate Lip _ It is essential that underside of the gate lip be designed in such a manner that the pressures on it are always positive. Also, the bottom shape of the gate be such that the flow of Mg ‘water past the gate is streamlined. In the earlier designs, the shape of the gate lip was based mainly on structural ie consideration which resulted in a flat lip for the full gate thickness except for a small radius at i the upstream edge. Tests have indicated that the high velocity flows under the gate does not 7 follow the profile of the flat lip and cause pockets of high negative pressures. Vibrations, i cavitation and hydraulic downpull observed in case of gates with flat lips, when operated under i: high heads, are attributed to the pockets of high negative pressures. Occurrence of nogative id pressures can possibly be prevented by shaping the gate bottom to check both the separation of : flow and its travel across the lip of the gate. As shown in Fig 3a, at very small openings, stable Z separation of flow occurs at downstream edge of the gate and as the gate is further raised, the point of separation begins to move to the upstream side, At large opening, the separation point ; ‘occurs at the upstream edge of the gate. 8 “Therefore, the design of bottom lip shape of the gate should be such that it meets the sad following requirements: Cavitation hazard is reduced to minimum, ast Vibration of the gate is reduced to a minimum, i Hydraulic downpull forces aro kept to a minimum; 7 Upthrust forces should not be so large as to prevent gate closure; the Rate of change in magnitude of downpull force with small changes in gate positions _ is minimum; uit (vi) Air demand is minimum, (vii) The bottom of the gate is structurally sound and the cost of manufacturing and/or strengthening works out to a minimum. sate Lip shapes for vertical lift gates can be broadly classified into the following three main categories as shown in Fig 10. that so @ — PlatLip; ne Gi) Vertical or extended lip; ii) Sloping lip. per 9+Extensive model and prototype studies have been carried out in the past to ative at a suitable design of bottom shape of high head regulating (generally slide type with downstream sealing and downstream skin plate) and non-regulaling type of gates. These studies have revealed that both the 45° and 60° sloping lips are Satisfactory for regulating service but the 45? lip is popular because of structural advantage in its smali lip height. As per past practices, even a vertical extended lip design was also a preferred arrangement because of constructional and structural advantages but has generally been discontinued because of more vibration problems associated with this type in comparison to sloping lip design. With a 45° lip, the gate vibrations, Pressure fluctuations and downpull forces have been found to be minimum. For a gate with upstream skin plate and sealing, if the bottom girder is far down below, the ensuing jet of water may strike the web of girder thereby inducing fluctuating forces and hence vibration. Also, there might be up-thrust, resulting in non-closure of the gate if it is not sufficiently heavy or the gate is not provided with hoisting mechanism capable of imparting a positive downward force, These are avoided, by shifting the bottom most girder as high as structurally possible and reducing the depth of girder. As a thumb rule, it can be stated that the line joining the lowest point of gate lip to the downstream end of the lowest horizontal girder should preferably have an inclination of about 45° with the horizontal. If this principle is followed, the uplift and vibrations will be reduced considerably. The lip shape adopted in the original designs and that which has been adopted after model tests are shown in Fig 11(a) and Fig 11(b). Slopes of 35° or even 30° on the downstream side of gates have also been successfully employed for comparatively lower ranges of heads. An important aspect to be kept in mind while designing the bottom shape of downstream sealing gates is that the control point should always be located at the farthest downstream point of the gate lip. If this care is not taken, itis likely that the control point gets shifted towards the upstream which would be a cause for vibration of the gate and cavitation on the lip. It is also necessary to ensure that the bottom of the gate is structurally sound to resist the differential forces. of water inside and outside the gate bottom. In order to keep the magnitude of such differential pressures to a minimum, itis advisable to provide a few drain holes in curved bottom lip plate of the gate and in the web of the lowest horizontal girder as shown in Fig 12. 73 Aeration supply of air when these control structures are discharging. This air supply will prevent dropping down of the pressure to vapour pressure thereby reducing the chances of cavitation, ‘When the gates are partly opened, the high velocity flow entrains air with it and as a result an air current is set up through the air vent. The intensity of this current depends upon the velocity of water, percentage of opening and the shape and arrangement of air vent pipes. In most cases, as, the gate opening increases, the air demand decreases and then increases again to a second ‘maximum just before the conduit flows full. This secondary air demand is caused by drag force between water surface and the air above it. With the formation of hydraulic jump in the conduit, however, the air demand will depend on the capacity of the jump to entrain and remove air, ‘The earlier design of air vents has been on the rules of thumb or vague empiricism. One rule of thumb, in the absence of actual air demand data, has been to design the air vent to provide 10% of the cross sectional area of the sluice or tunnel. In the past, many failures and mal-functioning of structures have been reported to have occurred on account of lack of adequate ait supply. The problem of evaluating air demand has been a subject of many investigations based mainly on hydraulic models and also on field observations, notably, by US Any Corps of Engineers, Campbell & Guyton, Kalinske & Robertson, Wisner, Lysne & -10-