Author(s): E. Allen Hammack; Richard L. Stockstill
Linked Author(s): Richard Stockstill
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: The flow through navigation lock filling and emptying systems is controlled by culvert valves. For high-lift locks, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers' guidance (Headquarters, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1975) recommends that these valves be of the reverse tainter design. Evaluation of the valve's performance requires an understanding of the complex flow interaction with the partially-opened valve. Such detailed modeling of lock culvert valves has historically been reserved to physical models. However, computational flow modeling provides an economic alternative for the evaluation of lock components. This paper investigates the hydraulic performance of the reverse tainter valves in the culverts at John Day Lock, Columbia River. Performance is evaluated in terms of hydraulic parameters obtained from three-dimensional (3D) simulations of the culvert flows for several valve openings seen during a lock operation. The flow variables, pressure and velocity, are used to determine empirical coefficients that used to evaluate the hydraulic design of lock valves. Performance is described with general parameters such as pressure coefficients and contraction and discharge coefficients.
Year: 2009