Numerical Analyses of Gate Lifting Force for Vertical-lifting Plane Steel Gate When Retaining Water Inversely

Due to the variation of the water level and the water diversion demand, many sluices can satisfy the requirement for both forward and reverse operation. Because of the complicate loading situation when retaining the water inversely, the lifting force will significantly increase, leading to the seriously insufficient lifting force of the hoist. Therefore, a predicting method of the gate lifting force based on CFD (computational fluid dynamics) using the homogenous model was proposed, with one control sluice in Jiangsu Province being the benchmark case. The analysis was performed for the gate lifting force at different opening height of the gate when the sluice retained the water inversely. The reason for increase of the required gate lifting force was also analyzed. The results indicate that the numerical gate lifting force with CFD agrees well with the experiment and the proposed method can effectively predicate the gate lifting force and its tendency as the gate opening height increases. The opening force of the flat steel gate when the gate retains the water inversely is greatly increased compared to the case where the gate operates in the opposite direction. During the lifting process, the vertical force induced by water is the key reason for the lifting force incensement. The force results in the pressure difference between both sides of the bottom main beam (higher pressure on the upper side and lower pressure on the other side). The pressure difference is first increased, then decreased, and then increased and then decreased, which results in the same tendency of the opening force. The research results of this paper are of great significance to improve the accuracy of numerical simulation of the flow field through the gate, improve gate design, and optimize the opening force of plane steel gate. Copyright ©2021 Advanced Engineering Sciences. All rights reserved.