Comparative Study on the Results of Analytical and Experimental Analysis of a Steel Taintor (Radial) Gate

Abstract

The main load of a hydraulic gate is the water pressure, especially for the submerged gates. A good accuracy of the computation methods leads to a more secure structure.
The paper presents a comparison between different computation methods of this type of structures. A radial gate was analyzed. The size of the submerged outlet is 4,0 x 4,0 m and the water depth is 20,0 m
The following methods were used in the analysis:
• The finite elements method, using a mesh of the structure of the gate.
• Model studies. An 1:4 scale model was built in order to perform this study.
The model was subjected to water pressure. In several points of this model, strain measuring devices were installed and the strains were measured at several water pressure magnitudes.
The results of the first two computation methods are compared in some points of the structure. With the aid of the second method, the strains were computed in order to compare them with the strains measured on the model.
These comparative studies try to establish the accuracy of each of the methods presented above.