Effects of water flow pressure on fluctuation of tainter gates

Abstract

    The dynamic pressure of water flow under the gate is one of the reasons causing the fluctuation of tainter gates. This study seeks to employ the Finite Element Method to analyze the fluctuation of tainter gates caused by flow pressure, and thereby to evaluate the effects of the pressure on the dynamic behaviour of gate structures. The results show that water flow pressure has a slight effect on the fluctuation of the small gates, and it could be ignored in designing calculation. In the case of lager-span and deep gates, however, the impacts of flow pressure should be taken into account in design to improve the safety factor of the gate in operation.