International Journal Of Scientific Research And Education

||Volume||3||Issue||6||Pages-3878-3893||June-2015|| ISSN (e): 2321-7545

Website: http://ijsae.in

Design And Analysis of Spillway Radial Gate

Authors
G. Chandra Mohana Reddy1, Subramanyam.B2
1
P.G. Scholar,Dept.of Mechanical Engineering, MLR Institute of Technology,Dundigal,Hyderabad,
Telangana, India
2
Asst.Professor,Dept.Of Mechanical Engineering, MLR Institute of Technology,Hyderabad, Telangana,
India
Email- cmreddy115@gmail.com, bsm52052@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Water resource has a reservoir or diversion work for the control of floods or to store water for irrigation or
power generation, domestic or industrial water supply. A spillway with control mechanism is almost
invariably provided for release of water during excess flood inflows. Release of water may also be carried
out by control devices provided in conducts in the body of the dam and tunnels. In order to achieve flow
control, a gate or shutter is provided in which a leaf or closure member is placed across the water way from
an external position to control the flow of water.
Present work has carried out a methodology to design a spillway gate with a high strength low alloy steel
and low carbon steel to analyse its strength and deformation using Ansys software. In order to evaluate the
effectiveness of high strength low alloy steel over low carbon steel, stress analysis is performed on both high
strength low alloy steel and low carbon steel spillway gate using Ansys. The methodology shows substantial
improvements in high strength low alloy steel spillway gate. The mean deflection, normal stress and shear
stress were found for both high strength low alloy steel and low carbon steel of spillway gate by using
Ansys.
In this work effort is made to reduce stress levels so that advantage of weight reduction along with stresses
can be obtained. The comparison analysis of high strength low alloy steel and low carbon steel spillway
gate was made for the maximum deformation and normal stresses.
Keywords- Spillway Gate, ANSYS, CATIA, Finite Element Analysis.

INTRODUCTION
The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow. A side
view of a Tainter gate resembles a slice of pier with the curved part of the piece facing the source or upper
pool of water and the tip pointing toward the destination or lower pool. The curved face or skin plate of the
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gate takes the form of a wedge section of cylinder. The straight sides of the pie shape, the trunnion arms,
extend back from each end of the cylinder section and meet at a trunnion which serves as a pivot point when
the gate rotates.
Pressure forces acting on a submerged body act perpendicular to the body's surface. The design of the
Tainter gate results in every pressure force acting through the centre of the imaginary circle which the gate is
a section of, so that all resulting pressure force acts through the pivot point of the gate, making construction
and design easier.
When a Tainter gate is closed, water bears on the convex (upstream) side. When the gate is rotated, the rush
of water passing under the gate helps to open and close the gate. The rounded face, long radial arms and
trunnion bearings allow it to close with less effort than a flat gate. Tainter gates are usually controlled from
above with a chain/gearbox/electric motor assembly.
In designating the size of a radial gate, the width is given first followed by height. Height is the vertical
projection of the distance from the sill to the top of the gate i.e...The height of the opening that the gate
covers in the vent between piers. It is not the curved length of the gate or the height above spillway crest.
Sill is generally located downstream of the spillway crest to improve flow condition and avoid cavitations on
the downstream glacis.

COMPONENTS OF RADIAL GATES

1. Gate Leaf
2. Horizontal Girders
3. End arm assembly
4. Trunnion assembly
5. Anchorage system

GATE LEAF
The gate leaf of a radial gate is made up of skin plate bent into the shape of an arc. Water thrust is taken on
the convex face. The radius of curvature of gate is generally 1.25H, where H is the vertical distance between
the sill and the top of gate. The skin plate is made of M.S plate to IS: 2062 specifications. Good and able
quality steel. In large gates plates of different thickness are used at different heights depending on the
location above sill and stress due to water thrust on the segment. A 1.5 mm corrosion allowance is provided
while deciding the thickness. The skin plate assembly is fabricated in segments so that they are conveniently
transported and assembled at site. Necessary match marks and locating pins are provided. Butt joints,
particularly field joints should be carefully checked for any sign of crack during inspection.
The skin plate is provided with either vertical or horizontal stiffeners. Generally vertical stiffeners are tees
formed by cutting I sections in the middle and bent to the same curvature as that of skin plate and welded to
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it. Where the gate size is small. Horizontal stiffeners and end box girders are provided and radial arms are
fixed to vertical end girders.

Fig 1: Model of Gate Leaf

HORIZONTAL GIRDERS
Horizontal girders are provided to take up the water thrust from the gate leaf. These are generally plate
girders, with webs, web stiffeners and flanges. Welds should be checked. Drain holes are provided prevent
water collection and rusting. They are required to be kept clean.

Fig 2: Model of Horizontal Girder

RADIAL ARMS
Radial arms emanate from the trunnion hub and are connected to the vertical end supports of skin plate in
the case of small size gates to horizontal girders.
There are two types of arm assemblies.
1. Parallel arms: for small gates where water thrust is not much, parallel arms are provided. These are
straight and parallel to each other and are rigidly connected to vertical end supports of skin plate or the
horizontal girder, at either end.
2. Inclined arms: In the case of larger gates inclined arms are provided. The arm assembly is connected to
the horizontal girder at above 1/5 of span from the end, resulting in substantial saving in weight and size of
the horizontal girders.

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The complicated geometric configuration of the inclined arm assembly is required to be properly laid out in
jigs both in the shop and in the field during installation for proper aligning of the arm assembly and trunnion
hub before welding. So that the gate movement is smooth. The flange joints between horizontal girders and
radial arms have to be checked thoroughly for slackness of bolts or fastenings. Holes should be drilled and
reamed and bolts used should be machined bolts of superior quality and fits snugly. The shims should be
steel. All bolts to be tightened to correct torque as recommended by manufacturer. Loose bolts or oblong/gas
cut holes should be avoided. The flange joints of arms at horizontal girders and trunnion ends should be
fully bearing without gap. Steel shims with machine-drilled holes should be used to fill any gap.

Fig 3: Model of Arm

TRUNNION ASSEMBLY
This consists of trunnion hub connected to the arms, trunnion bracket mounted on anchor/yoke girders, and
trunnion pin acting as a hinge. If the gate is designed with inclined arms, side thrust due to inclined arms
could be tackled by suitable anchorage or by providing, the tie girder between two trunnions of a gate.
Cracks or failure of weld joint at tie girder is an indication of trunnion shifting or malfunctioning of gate.
Hence, if cracks are noticed during inspection, mere strengthening of joint by welding would not be
sufficient and the problem would reappear. The underlying causes of this failure such as trunnion shift, gate
moving skew, gate binding, miss alignment of trunions etc. should also be checked and rectified.Trunnion
hub is a complicated and heavy steel casting and such, it is critical joint. The castings are to be thoroughly
checked for soundness while accepting, blow holes and cracks should be avoided.
There had been instance of lead sheets used to fill the gap between matching parts. Through a gap free joint
was achieved, during operation. Lead sheet got extruded under load and there was a loose joint. Sometimes,
instead of steel casting, fabricated trunnions are adopted for ease of manufacture, but in that case, very
carefully controlled welding and subsequent stress relieving are essential. Generally phosphor-bronze
bearing metal bushing is shink-fitted to trunnion hub. Trunnion pins are of cast steel or forged carbon steel
with hard chrome or nickel plating to reduce rusting, friction and wear.

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Fig 4: Model of Trunnion and Bracket

ANCHORAGE SYSTEM
The trunnion rests on an anchor girder which is held on the concrete of the spillway pears by the set of tie
flats. Here the total water thrust exerted on the gate is transmitted to the piers as bond stress between tie
flats and concrete of the pier along the length of the tie flats. Hence the anchor bars are in full contact with
concrete.
This insulating is achieved by covering the rod in that portion only with cork mastic or polythene sheets
during erection and concreting. Generally a simple box type girder spanning the pier width is provided and
the trunnions are mounted at either end. Thus each anchor girder holds trunnion of two adjacent gates. The
anchor girder is held in position and connected to the pier by tie flats of suitable width and length of about
2/3 gate radius embedded in pier concrete. The bars are splayed to achieve distribution of load over larger
area in the pier.

Fig 5: Model of Tie Flat

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DESIGN OF SPILLWAY GATE

Table 1: Technical parameters
Vent width

12.000 M

Vent height (above sill to FRL)

6.15 M

Radius to inside of skin plate

Sill level

6.500 M
EL 12.75 M

Trunnion level

EL 16.70 M

FRL
MWL
Top of gate

EL 18.90 M
EL18.90M
EL 18.90 M

Bottom of the gate when fully lifted position

Design head (FRL SILL)

EL 18.90 M
6.15 M

THE LAYOUT OF GATE

The layout of the gate is shown in the fig. The angles and the curved lengths of gate is calculated for FRL,
Top of gate.

Fig.6: Layout of Gate

WATER THRUST CALCULATION ON THE GATE

FRL condition
Horizontal Thrust = w x L x H2/2
Where w = density of water 1t/m3
L = Vent width = 12.0 M
H = Design head = 6.15 M
Ht = (1 x 12.0 x 6.152) / 2 = 227t
Vertical Thrust : Vt= (w x L) / 2 [ R X S] + x V U (H + X)]
= [ (1 x 12.0)/ 2] [ 6.5 x 6.489) + (6.116 x 2.2) 5.162 (6.15
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+ 2.2)] = 75.186t
Resultant thrust : Rt =

Ht2 + Vt2

2272 + 75.1862 = 239. 13t

Inclination of anchors to horizontal
= tan -1 (Vt/Ht) = tan-1 (75.186/227) = 18.32560

ADDITIONAL LOAD DUE TO SILL REACTION

Self weight of gate: 24t
CG of the gate: 0.8 x 6.5 = 5.2
Reaction = (24 x 5.2) / 5.16 = 24.176t
Radial force: 24.176 x cos 52.58 = 14.69t

ADDITIONAL LOAD DUE TO ROPE TENSION

Hoist capacity assumed: 40t
Bottom of the gate lifted to 18.9M
Additional load due to rope tension = 40 cos 49.2602 = 26.10t
The load anchorage system is designed for the following conditions:
Gate resting on the sill with water load up to FRL + Effect of sill reactions
= 239 + 14.7 = 253.7t
FRL load + Hoist reaction (When gate is just lifted)
=239 + 26 = 265.0t
It is proposed to design anchorage system for 150 t load on each side.

MODELING
Modelling of the spillway gate is done using CATIA V5 R 20. In order to model the gate, it is necessary to
have sections of the spillway gate at various radii. These sections are drawn and rotated through their
respective pivot point.. Then all rotated sections are projected onto right circular cylinders of respective radii
as shown in figure below. Now by using multi section surface option, the option, the gate is modelled.

Material Names:
High strength low alloy steel (ASTM A441)
Low carbon steel (ASTM A36)

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Fig 7: model of spillway radial gate

Table 2: properties of High Strength Low Alloy Steel

Material Selected

High Strength Low Alloy Steel

Youngs Modulus

2.2e+005Mpa

Poissons Ratio

0.32

Density

8.100e-006Kg/mm^3

Tensile Ultimate Strength

460 Mpa

Yield point

315 Mpa

Table3: properties of Low carbon Steel

Material Selected

Low Carbon Steel

Youngs Modulus

2.0e+005Mpa

Poissons Ratio

0.26

Density

7.197e-006Kg/mm^3

Tensile Ultimate Strength

418 Mpa

Yield point

275 Mpa

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MESHING
The solid model is imported to ANSYS and tetrahedron mesh is generated for the same. The meshed model
is shown in figure below the meshing was done by splitting it into different areas and the 2D mapped mesh
was done and then it was converted into 3D mesh using the tool linear solid. The number of elements
created is 1, 15,000 and number of nodes created is 2, 45,000 Quality checks are verified for the meshed
model. Now the pressures are applied on the gate which is obtained in MECHANICAL APDL... Then the
meshed model is imported into the ANSYS.

Fig.8: Mesh Model of Spillway Gate

Fig 9: von Mises Stress of High Strength Low Alloy Steel

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Fig10: Elastic Strain of High Strength Low Alloy Steel

Fig11: Shear Stress of High Strength Low Alloy Steel

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Fig 12: Total Deformation of High Strength Low Alloy Steel

Fig.5. 13 Normal Stress of High Strength Low Alloy Steel

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Fig.14: von Mises Stress of Low Carbon Steel

Fig.15: Elastic Strain of Low carbon Steel

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Fig 16: shear stress of Low Carbon Steel

Fig.17: Total deformation of Low Carbon Steel

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Fig. 5.18 Normal Stress of Low Carbon Steel

Table 4: comparison of stresses

Stresses

High Strength Low Alloy Steel

Low carbon Steel

von Mises Stress

346.451 N/mm2

454.139 N/mm2

Shear Stress

131.224 N/mm2

176.506 N/mm2

Elastic Strain

0.00920

0.00134

Deformation

4.109 mm

6.012 mm

Normal stress

412.929 N/mm2

430.9 N/mm2

CONCLUSIONS
The spillway gate of a dam is designed, given the normal reservoir level (18.9m) and the elevation of the
spillway crest (13.25m). In order to expedite discharge in the event of a flood, the area of the gate is
maximized. Considering the pier span of 12.m, the length of gate is 12.0m and a height of 6.15m. At a
normal reservoir level, the water was found to apply a force of 239.13t. In order to balance forces and
moments, the hinge was placed directly opposite to the resultant force. The design assumptions are
reasonable. Water is known to be an incompressible fluid. The principal quantities used in the design of the
gate, such as the acceleration due to gravity and the density of water. Overall, this model is robust. The
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design is feasible and efficient. Due to its maximal area, the gate provides an optimal flow rate, reducing
potential damage to the dam structure. In order to proceed with the design, detailed stress analysis must be
completed. This will allow for material selection and detailed design.
In this work a Spillway Radial Gate was modeled in 3D modeling software CATIA and then analyze the
Spillway Radial Gate with different materials like High strength Low Alloy Steel and Low Carbon Steel
with help of fem. In this Project describe the stress distribution of the Spillway Radial Gate by using FEA.
The finite element analysis is performed by using ANSYS software.
By comparing about loading conditions and results, I choose High Strength Low Alloy Steel material as a
spillway radial gate than Low Carbon Steel material, because High Strength Low Alloy steel has less
deformation, normal stress and shear stress. When the stress levels are reduced, the weight is reduced. When
the weight is reduced the cost is reduced.

REFERENCES
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14. Hardwick, J.D., Attari, J., Lewin, J. (2000). Flow-induced Vibration of Torrumbarry Weir Gates.
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