Failure of Gates and Hoist

By:
Mr. R.S. Chauhan
Sr. V.P. (HM)
Energy Infratech Pvt. Ltd.
 Introduction:
 Gates provide a vital safety function by ensuring
that flood water is discharged and thus protect
the integrity of the dam.

 “Failure” means load refusal, breakage, or

separation of components.
 Cause of Failure
Failure of Gates and Hoist occurs due to
Following Reasons:
 Improper Design
 Improper operation
 Irregular maintenance
 Aging of Gates
 Due to Design Deficiency:
 Seismic Loads
 Vibrations
 Design Details
 Seismic Loads:
 Lack of consideration of possible seismic
loading may be the most subtle deficiencies.
 Earthquake damage to gates is not unusual due
to the large added-mass forces that can act on
the gates during an earthquake.
Examples are:
 In 1990 a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in Iran
caused serious damage to the radial gates of
the intermediate spillway of the 106-meter high
Sefidrud buttress dam.
 Failure of Gates due to Seismic
Loads

Shih-Kang
spillway weir
damaged by 1999
Chi-Chi
earthquake:
Spillway openings
17 and 18
destroyed by fault
movement
 Vibration:
 The second most common case of design errors
is failure to consider the possibility of severe
vibrations of a gate.
 There will always be special cases in which
more detailed considerations should be made.
Examples are:
 In the 1995 failure of the radial spillway gate at
Foisom Dam in California. Vibrations occurred
with a gate opening of 0.73 meters and a head
on the gate of 12.2 meters.
 Design Details:
 Another common error in the design of gates is
in failing to recognize opportunities for corrosion
in the design of the gates or to detect serious
corrosion.
Examples are:
 When the radial gate at Foisom dam in
California failed in 1995, inspection of the failed
gate showed that several of the rivet heads
placed during the initial fabrication of the gate
had corroded to the point where they no longer
had any structural strength.
 Detailed Design:
 Fabrication and/or construction errors apparently
were the cause of failure of a large radial gate
(15m by 13.5m) on Singur Dam in India. The
lapse was thought to be due to a lack of
inspection at all levels
 Failure Due to Operation:
 Unavailability to open the Gate
 Lack of Sufficient Training
 Lack of Communication to the Operator
 Loss of Power
 Hoist Motor Overload and Level Switch Failure
 Unavailability to open the Gates:

 The operator is not present at the control point

when needed.
 Severe storms that produce extreme floods may
also make access roads impassable at exactly
the time when access to the dam and control
facilities is most critical.
 Advance planning regarding access to the
spillway site is critical to insure reliable operation
of gated spillways during passage of extreme
floods.
 Lack of Sufficient Training
 The operator has not received sufficient training
in order to understand what is required of him
when an extreme flood is entering the reservoir,
or may not have the necessary tools which can
help him make a decision about when or if to
start opening gates.
 He did not get guidelines regarding operation of
the gates.
 Lack of Communication to the
Operator:
 The operator depends upon instructions from a
higher authority and communication has been
cut off.
 Storms that produce extreme floods often do
devastating damage to communication facilities
and to the data collection and transmission
facilities of a real-time forecasting system.
 Failure Due To Loss of Power:
 Some Times Failure of Gates occurs due to loss
of power.

 During flood times when gates are operating and

power failure is there than due to excessive load
gates failure may be there.

 To avoid gates failure due to power failure there

shall be extra power backup like Diesel
Generator Set.
 Failure Due to Maintenance:
 Due To Excessive Corrosion
 Debris or Ice Jamming
 Seal Rolling
 Bearing Failure
 Maintenance Difficulties
 Excessive Corrosion:
 Many problems which occur as a result of aging
are as a result of corrosion.
 These problems include deterioration of
structural steel from which the gates have been
fabricated and corrosion of moving parts.
 Debris or Ice Jamming:
 Some times failure occurs due to jamming of
Gates due to debris and ice. Debris may jam
gates and may also caused corrosion to the
gates parts.
 Ice jamming may cause operation failure.
 Seal Rolling:
 Some times gates failure may occurs due to
improper sealing.
 Damage of sealing due to debris
 Improper Seal compression

Regular inspection of seals shall be there and

replaced it when necessary.
 Bearing Failure

 Failure of Bearing occurs due to improper

lubrication, greasing etc.
 Heavier loading than has been anticipated.
 Careless handling
 Ineffective sealing
 Maintenance Difficulties:

Sometimes maintenance is difficult due to

 No approach at maintenance site
 Narrow approach in different parts of gates.
 No Points for Greasing and Lubrication
 Overtopping of Water

 Overtopping of
Water over Radial
gates due to
absence of
Diaphragm Seals
 General:
In spite of the other reasons the gates shall be
said to be failed under following circumstances
also:
 Leakage is not permissible
 Incapable of operating at the specified speed.
 Using Improper Material or Low Grade Material
during Fabrication.
 Bad Quality of welding or unskilled Labour
during fabrication.
 Leakage:
Leakage shall be permissible as per IS codes
which is:
 5 liters/min/meter for medium and low head
gates
 10litres/min/meter for high head gates.
 Operation at Specific Speed:
 Gates shall be operated (i.e. Lifting and
Lowering) at specific speed which is vary from
03.m/s to 0.7m/sec.
 Improper Material:

 Failure of gates occurs by using low grade

materials or low material during fabrication of
gates. Material of all the Parts shall be as per
standard codes (i.e. Indian Standard Codes or
IS codes).
 Welding and Unskilled Labour :
 Failure of gates also occurs due to improper
welding or selection of wrong electrodes or
methods of welding by the engineers.
 Unskilled labour also caused important parts in
it.
Bending of Radial Gate Arms
Failure Due to Seismic Loads
Rusting of Girder Occurs:
 Failure of Hoists:
 Failure of Hoist generally occurs in ropes, gears
etc. due to improper maintenance, design and
operation.
 Failure in Wire Ropes

 1. External and internal fatigue, caused by bending over

sheaves and/or winding on drums, and

 2. Crushing, caused by spooling on multilayer drums.

 Other rope degradation, such as excessive wear, corrosion or

mechanical damage are considered problems that can be
remedied by appropriate preventative maintenance
procedures. Corrective measures might include rope re-
lubrication, sheave alignment, etc.
Failure of Wire Ropes:
The most common problems are:
 Misapplication
 Wrong wire rope construction, diameter
and/or grade used
 General misuse
 Shock load/overload
 Forklift damage from handling the
reel/Pulley Sheaves
 Poor drum spooling (plain face drum)
Continued:
The most common problems are:
 Insufficiently sized sheaves/drums.
 Insufficient tensioning of rope during
installation.
 Induced turn during installation
 Lack of in service lubrication.
 Machine condition/alignment.
Different Rope Failures:
Failure of Ropes
 Failure of Hydraulic Cylinder:
Generally failure occurs in hydraulic seals.
Failure of hydraulic seals occurs due to
following reasons:
 Improper Installation
 Hydraulic System Contamination
 Chemical Break Down
 Heat Degradation
 Improper Installation:
 Improper installation is a major cause of
hydraulic seal failure. The important things
to watch during seal installation are:
 Cleanliness
 Protecting the seal from nicks and cuts
 Proper lubrication.
 Hydraulic System Contamination:
 It is usually caused by external elements
such as dirt, grit, mud, dust, ice and
internal contamination from circulating
metal chips, break-down products of fluid,
hoses or other degradable system
components.
 Chemical Break Down
It is due to the result of incorrect material
selection in the first place, or a change of
hydraulic system fluid.
Non-compatible materials can lead to
chemical attack by:
 Fluid additives
 Hydrolysis
 Oxidation reduction of seal elements.
 Heat Degradation:
 It is to be suspected when the failed seal
exhibits a hard, brittle appearance and/or
shows a breaking away of parts of the seal
lip or body.
Causes of this condition may be use of:
 Incorrect seal material
 High dynamic friction
 Excessive lip loading
 No heel clearance
 Proximity to outside heat source.
Failure of Rubber Seals in Cylinder:
Failure of Cylinder due to Low Material:
 Failure of Hydraulic Cylinders:
Other General Failure of Hydraulic
Cylinders are:
 Cracking or Bending of Piston Rod: If
piston rods bent or cracks are occurred
they should be replaced.
 Damaging of Piston Ring: Piston Rings
shall be replaced when they are worn outs
or damaged.
Lubrication of Gears of Rope Drum Hoist