Flood gate with hydraulic draw down deflector

Abstract

A flood control gate having one or more deflectors on a backside surface of the gate for reducing hydraulic forces acting upon the gate when the gate is raised in a water body. The gate may have a front side surface configured to prevent fluids from passing through the gate. The deflector may be attached to a backside surface of the gate proximate to a bottom surface. A transition may be located at an intersection of the backside surface and the bottom surface to further facilitate movement of the gate in a water body.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 578,341, filed Jun. 9, 2004.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention is directed generally to flood gates, and more particularly, to flood gates capable of being loaded with hydraulic forces on either side of the flood gates. BACKGROUND [0003] Flood gates are used in many applications to control the flow of water. For instance, flood gates may be used to eliminate or substantially reduce the likelihood of floods, to regulate the flow of water for irrigation purposes, or for other purposes. Flood gates are typically supported by an embedded slide, rollers, or other support structure. While positioned in a support structure, a flood gate may moved from a closed position to an open position by raising the gate with a ball screw stem, cable and pulley, or other appropriate manner. [0004] Many conventional flood gates are used to maintain a water level on a front s...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006] The flood gate may also include a deflector coupled to the backside surface of the frame in a position proximate to a bottom surface of the frame. The deflector prevents the creation of hydraulic head forces on the support members that are covered by the deflector proximate to the bottom of the gate where the hydraulic head forces are greatest. By preventing hydraulic head forces from acting upon the support members forming the bottom portion of the gate, the gate may be raised in a water body using mechanized systems sufficient to raise the gate without having to account for the hydraulic head forces as the hydraulic head forces acting on the support members are minimal.

[0007] The flood gate may also include a transition at the intersection between the bottom surface of the gate and the backside surface. The transition may be a beveled transition, a rounded edge, or other appropriate configuration facilitating fluid flow, reducing hydrologic drag forces ,and reducing the hydraulic forces preventing the gate from being raised. The flood gate may also include a plurality of wheels attached to a first side of the frame positioned generally orthogonally to the front side surface and to the backside surface and a plurality of wheels attached to a second side of the frame positioned generally orthogonally to the front side surface and to the backside surface and generally opposite from the first side. The wheels facilitate vertical movement of the gate within flood control structure.

[0008] An advantage of this invention is that the deflector prevents hydraulic forces from being created and acting upon the support members proximate to a bottom surface of the gate. As a result, a smaller, less expensive, mechanized system may be used to raise the gate in a flood control structure than required with a gate used in a system in which hydraulic forces act on a backside of a flood gate. In addition, elimination of the hydraulic forces reduces the destructive forces that damage the gate and related mechanized systems.

Problems solved by technology

In addition, these flood gates are not designed to operate with a high water level on the backside of the gate.

However, as many flood control protocols change, the use of flood control structures that were designed to be loaded only on a front side are now being loaded with high water levels on the backside of the gate as well.

In applications where the backside of these flood gates support high water levels, problems often develop with the mechanized systems used to raise and lower the flood gate.

Thus, the resistance created by the water when raising a gate in this manner is small.

However, when these gates are loaded with high water levels on the backside surface, raising the gate creates large downward hydraulic forces that act on the support members accessible from the backside and increase the load on the gate.

This increased load can be so large that the mechanized system used to raise a gate is unable to do so.

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