Overflow dam and lock combination upstream water level control system and method
By combining the underwater spillway control system of the spillway dam and the lock, the waterfall landscape of the spillway dam is maintained during the day, and the water is discharged through the underwater spillway channel of the lock at night, which solves the problem of nighttime noise and achieves stable water level control.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SHENGZHOU WANGXIN JINSHUI CONSTR INVESTMENT CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2026-05-08
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-12
AI Technical Summary
The existing spillway dam causes a negative impact on residents' lives at night due to the sound of the rushing water, and the traditional lock design cannot effectively control the water level to reduce noise.
By combining the overflow dam and the lock, an underwater discharge channel and an underwater discharge control valve are installed in the lock. During the day, the overflow is maintained through the overflow dam to preserve the landscape, and at night, the water is discharged through the underwater discharge channel of the lock. The water level is controlled by the height-adjustable dam body, which reduces noise.
This effectively reduces nighttime discharge noise, maintains the daytime waterfall landscape, and controls upstream water level stability to avoid structural complexity.
Smart Images
Figure CN122190216A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to an upstream water level control system and method combining an overflow dam and a ship lock, belonging to the field of water conservancy engineering technology. Background Technology
[0002] Overflow dams are a common means of controlling upstream water levels in rivers to achieve water retention, storage, and flood discharge. For example, Chinese patent document CN109208545A discloses a construction method for an artificial landscape overflow dam with energy dissipation effect. It adopts a thin concrete overflow dam + masonry landscape stone structure. The concrete and masonry landscape stones form a gravity dam to resist the horizontal load of upstream water pressure, and the masonry landscape stones create a natural waterfall atmosphere to form a dam body with energy dissipation effect. Chinese patent document CN112609639A discloses an inflatable rubber dam, which includes a foundation in a river channel, a dam bag fixed on the foundation, a main pipe on the foundation, multiple air pipes on the main pipe, an air pump connected to the air pipes for inflating the dam bag, and an air pump for extracting air from the dam bag; the multiple air pipes are arranged at intervals on the main pipe, and the end of each air pipe away from the main pipe is connected to the dam bag, and the air pipes connect the dam bag to the main pipe. When the dam bag expands or contracts, gas enters the dam bag from the multiple air pipes, and the gas in the dam bag enters or exits evenly from its bottom, so that the pressure of gas and water on the top of the dam bag is relatively uniform during the expansion or contraction process. Chinese patent document CN208701610U discloses a two-stage cascading overflow dam with aesthetic appeal. The dam's upper part is capped with a landscape stone, and the outer side of the dam features a two-stage cascading platform and a stilling basin. The outer edge of the two-stage cascading platform has an arc-shaped structure. As the water flows down, it creates a circular water curtain effect, enhancing the aesthetic appeal. However, especially in landscaped waterways near residential areas, while the waterfall scenery and sound of these overflow dams can enhance the landscape during the day, they become noise disturbances at night, disrupting residents' lives and rest.
[0003] On the other hand, to accommodate navigation between the upstream and downstream of the spillway dam, locks are required. For example, Chinese patent document CN202214714U discloses a staggered arrangement structure for a double-line lock, including a parallel first-line lock and a second-line lock. Each of the first-line and second-line locks has an upper lock head and a lower lock head. The upper lock head on the first-line lock is longitudinally offset from the upper lock head on the second-line lock by one lock head, and the lower lock head on the first-line lock is longitudinally offset from the lower lock head on the second-line lock by one lock head. The upper lock head on the first-line lock is laterally close to the upper lock head on the second-line lock, and the lower lock head on the first-line lock is laterally close to the lower lock head on the second-line lock. The first-line and second-line locks share a single lock wall. Chinese patent document CN113338250A discloses a saltwater-proof lock with staggered short corridor side branch holes for water conveyance. It includes an upper lock head, a lock chamber, a lower lock head, an upper gate, and a lower gate. The lock chamber has a short corridor for water filling that connects to the river mouth outside the upper gate via a water filling valve in the lock wall near the upper lock head, and a short corridor for water discharge that connects to the sea mouth outside the lower gate via a water discharge valve in the lock wall near the lower lock head. The lock wall has side branch holes for water filling that connect to the lock chamber and the short corridor for water filling, and side branch holes for water discharge that connect to the short corridor for water discharge. The side branch holes for water filling and the side branch holes for water discharge are staggered relative to the height of the lock wall, and the side branch holes for water filling are higher than the side branch holes for water discharge. Chinese patent document CN120819079A discloses a double-line lock for improving water saving rate, including two adjacent lock lines, one for downstream navigation and one for upstream navigation. The downstream and upstream lock lines can switch between upstream and downstream routes. Both adjacent lock lines are equipped with water conveyance channels at their bottoms. The lock chambers of the two adjacent lock lines are connected by mutual filling and discharging channels. The mutual filling and discharging channels are equipped with mutual filling and discharging channel valves and variable frequency bidirectional pumps. The two lines enter and exit the locks synchronously. The water in the lock chamber of the downstream lock line is discharged to the lock chamber of the upstream lock line until the water level in the downstream lock chamber is level with the downstream approach channel, and the water level in the lock chamber of the upstream lock line is level with the upstream approach channel. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The purpose of this invention is to achieve upstream water level control by combining an overflow dam with a lock, thereby avoiding the negative impact of the sound of the overflow dam cascading at night on residents.
[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is: an upstream water level control system combining an overflow dam and a lock, comprising an overflow dam and a lock arranged horizontally side by side, the lock comprising an injection channel and a discharge channel, the injection channel comprising an injection valve, the discharge channel comprising a discharge valve, the injection channel comprising a discharge bypass, the two ends of the discharge bypass being connected to the injection channel on the inlet side of the injection valve and the injection channel on the outlet side of the injection valve respectively, and the discharge bypass comprising an underwater discharge control valve of the lock. With the water filling valve closed, the underwater spillway control valve of the lock open, and the spillway valve open, the water filling corridor is connected through the spillway bypass. Water from upstream of the lock flows downstream through the water filling corridor (via the spillway bypass) and the spillway corridor (including the water inlets and lock chambers of each corridor, if a short corridor is used), thus achieving spillway discharge. The entire spillway passage is located underwater (therefore, this passage can be called the underwater spillway passage of the lock, or the underwater water passage of the lock). Compared with the spillway dam discharge, it can significantly reduce the discharge noise.
[0006] Locks can be single-line locks or double-line locks, or any other suitable form.
[0007] Preferably, the working gate of the lock adopts a downward-flipping arc gate (or sinking arc gate, which is fully opened when the arc gate leaf flips downward to the bottom of the lock gate pit).
[0008] Preferably, the water filling gallery and the water discharge gallery are independent short galleries; or, the water filling gallery and the water discharge gallery share / form a long gallery, with the water filling valve located on the upper gate head side, the water discharge valve located on the lower gate head side, and the branch gallery / water conveyance hole located between the water filling valve and the water discharge valve.
[0009] Furthermore, the bypass can take any suitable form, such as a pipe or a corridor, and any suitable existing technology can be used to install the underwater bypass control valve of the lock on the corresponding corridor.
[0010] Preferably, the underwater discharge control valve of the lock is a gate valve or an eccentric butterfly valve (especially a gate valve or eccentric butterfly valve specifically for hydraulic engineering).
[0011] Preferably, the backwater side of the overflow dam is stepped to create a multi-tiered waterfall effect.
[0012] Preferably, the top of the overflow dam is equipped with a height-adjustable dam body.
[0013] Furthermore, the height-adjustable dam body is preferably made of any suitable form, such as a rubber dam, an air shield dam, or a flap dam.
[0014] The upstream water level control method combining an overflow dam and a lock employs any of the upstream water level control systems disclosed in this invention. When the sound of the overflow dam's drop is permissible (e.g., during the day), the underwater discharge control valve of the lock is closed, and the upstream water level is controlled by the overflow of the overflow dam. When the sound of the overflow dam's drop is not permissible (e.g., at night), the underwater discharge control valve and the discharge valve of the lock are opened, and the filling valve is closed. The filling corridor and the discharge corridor are connected through the underwater discharge control valve and the discharge valve of the lock to form an underwater discharge channel of the lock, and the upstream water level is controlled by the discharge through the underwater discharge channel of the lock.
[0015] Depending on the actual situation or needs, in the discharge mode where the upstream water level is controlled by the discharge through the underwater discharge channel of the lock, the underwater discharge control valve of the lock can be continuously open or intermittently (e.g., periodically) open.
[0016] Furthermore, under the continuous operation mode of the underwater discharge control valve of the lock, the opening degree of the underwater discharge control valve (one or more, usually multiple) is set or adjusted according to the upstream inflow rate and / or the difference between the upstream real-time water level and the upstream target water level, thereby controlling the discharge flow rate of the underwater discharge channel of the lock to keep the upstream water level within the target water level range.
[0017] Furthermore, in the intermittent opening mode of the underwater discharge control valve of the lock, the opening and closing times (e.g., the on / off time of the underwater discharge control valve within a cycle) and the opening degree of the underwater discharge control valve of the lock are set or adjusted according to the upstream inflow and / or the difference between the upstream real-time water level and the upstream target water level, thereby controlling the discharge flow (average flow or equivalent flow) of the underwater discharge channel of the lock to keep the upstream water level within the target water level range.
[0018] Furthermore, when the top of the overflow dam is equipped with a height-adjustable dam body, when the upstream target water level approaches, reaches or exceeds the overflow height of the overflow dam, the overflow height of the overflow dam can be increased by adjusting the height-adjustable dam body to prevent the upstream water from overflowing the overflow dam.
[0019] When necessary, the overflow dam is equipped with a through-pipe that serves as the underwater water passage pipe. This underwater water passage pipe is located in the underwater section of the overflow dam, and its depth is set according to actual needs to effectively achieve submersion and noise reduction. The underwater water passage pipe is equipped with an underwater water passage control valve. When the discharge capacity (discharge volume) of the lock's underwater spillway cannot meet the actual needs, the underwater water passage control valve is opened (fully or partially open). This allows for coordinated discharge through the underwater water passage pipe and the lock's underwater spillway, increasing the overall discharge capacity and meeting the requirements for upstream water level control. Considering that the noise reduction effect of the lock's underwater spillway is generally better than that of the overflow dam's underwater water passage pipe, the lock's underwater spillway is usually preferred for discharge.
[0020] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: Because of the underwater spillway channel and control valve, the spillway can be used to release water during the day, maintaining its waterfall effect, while releasing water at night through the underwater spillway channel, effectively reducing or eliminating spillway noise. Furthermore, because the spillway top is height-adjustable, the height of the dam crest can be increased during nighttime discharge through the underwater spillway channel, thus preventing overflow while maintaining a constant upstream water level. This achieves the goal of eliminating the sound of the spillway dam falling at night (or in other necessary situations); since the main part of the underwater spillway channel of the lock adopts the original water conveyance corridor (water filling channel and water discharge channel) of the lock, it not only avoids structural complexity, but also makes full use of the energy dissipation and noise reduction structure of the water conveyance corridor to achieve and ensure the energy dissipation and noise reduction effect; since the underwater spillway control valve of the lock can adopt a suitable flow regulating valve, the flow rate and / or intermittent on / off time can be adjusted according to actual needs, thereby effectively controlling the discharge flow and upstream water level.
[0021] This invention can be mainly used in urban waterways or landscape waterways, especially landscape waterways near residential areas / living areas, and can also be used in other suitable occasions. Attached Figure Description
[0022] Figure 1 This is a top-view structural diagram of the water level control system; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the spillway dam and bridge; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram involving the leakage bypass and bypass control.
[0023] The markings in the diagram are: 11. Riverbank structure; 12. Lock bank structure; 13. Lock chamber structure; 14. Lock dam structure; 16. Bridge; 17. Guardrail; 20. Overflow dam; 25. Height-adjustable dam body; 31. Working gate; 32. Water conveyance corridor; 33. Water filling valve; 34. Discharge bypass; 35. Lock underwater discharge control valve; 37. Overflow dam underwater water passage pipe; 38. Overflow dam underwater water passage control valve; 39. Damping energy dissipation device. Detailed Implementation
[0024] See Figures 1 to 3 The overflow dam 20 and the lock are arranged side by side on the river channel, with riverbank structures (e.g., retaining walls) 11 on both sides. The overflow dam is used for overflow discharge. When the upstream water level exceeds the height of the top of the overflow dam (or the overflow outlet), an overflow is formed, thereby achieving the control of the upstream water level by the overflow dam. The lock can be a single-line lock or a double-line lock. For the landscape river channel involved in this invention, since the water head (the difference between upstream and downstream water levels) is small, it is usually not necessary to set up multiple locks. The lock can adopt any suitable existing technology and mainly consists of upper and lower lock heads and lock chambers. The water conveyance channel 32 of the lock includes a water filling channel and a water discharge channel. The water filling channel is equipped with corresponding water filling valves 33, and the water discharge channel is equipped with water discharge valves to implement the water filling and water discharge of the lock chamber. Both the water filling valves and the water discharge valves can adopt any suitable existing technology, such as a horizontal flat steel gate with matching drive facilities. From a longitudinal perspective, water conveyance channels can take two forms: short channels and long channels. When using short channels, the short channel located at the upper gate head (and adjacent area, where appropriate) is the filling channel, and the short channel located at the lower gate head (and adjacent area, where appropriate) is the discharge channel. When using long channels, the long channel can be considered as an integrated filling and discharge channel. The filling valve is located on the upper gate head side, and the discharge valve is located on the lower gate head side. The side branch holes (and branch channels, where appropriate) of the channel are located between the filling and discharge valves, and are used for both filling and discharging water from the gate chamber. For example, Figure 1 In the example, the two long corridors for the first-line lock chamber are respectively set in the lock shore structure 12 and the lock chamber structure 13, and the two water conveyance corridors for the second-line lock chamber are respectively set in the lock chamber structure and the lock dam side structure 14.
[0025] Each lock head is equipped with its own working gate 31, and the working gate and its arrangement can adopt any suitable existing technology. As a preferred embodiment, the working gate adopts a downward-flipping arc-shaped gate (the arc-shaped gate opens when it flips downward to the bottom) to reduce the space occupied above and avoid excessive impact on the landscape. In particular, this type of gate can also be used for overflow discharge when necessary in landscape waterways or similar low-head situations, and the overflow height can be controlled by appropriately controlling the flipping angle of the gate (gate leaf). For example, in the scenario involved in this invention, when the temporarily set upstream target water level is lower than the overflow height of the overflow dam (when the height is adjustable, it is lower than the minimum height or the conventional height), the upstream water level can be adjusted to / controlled at the set target water level through overflow of the working gate, forming a special landscape of lock overflow discharge.
[0026] A bypass 34 for bypassing the filling valve is provided on the filling channel, and a lock underwater discharge control valve 35 is provided on each bypass. Thus, when the filling valve is closed, opening the lock underwater discharge control valve connects the filling channels on both sides of the filling valve. In this case, opening the discharge valve allows water upstream of the lock to flow downstream through the lock underwater discharge channel connected by the lock underwater discharge control valve and the discharge valve, achieving upstream-to-downstream discharge. When the filling channel and discharge channel are short channels that are not directly connected, the water in the filling channel first enters the lock chamber through the filling side branch hole, and then enters the discharge channel from the lock chamber through the discharge side branch hole; when the filling channel and discharge channel are a shared long channel, the water entering the long channel does not need to pass through the lock chamber and flows directly out from the outlet of the long channel. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, the filling channel and discharge channel are a shared long channel.
[0027] A bypass corridor or bypass pipeline can be installed in the vicinity of the filling valve to serve as a bypass for discharge. When a bypass corridor is used, a circular (circular cross-section) valve chamber can be installed on the bypass corridor for installing the underwater discharge control valve of the lock. The installation of the corresponding valve is achieved by partially circularizing the corridor.
[0028] A straight section can be set on the bypass, and the underwater spillway control valve of the lock can be installed on the straight section to reduce damage such as cavitation and extend its service life.
[0029] In practice, for urban landscape waterways and other similar situations, the discharge flow required to maintain the upstream water level is much smaller than the filling and discharge flow of the lock. Therefore, the bypass can use a smaller flow area, and damping (e.g., damping / energy dissipation grid) can be installed at the inlet of the bypass to reduce the flow velocity. Therefore, it is also permissible / suitable to use valves with greater resistance as underwater discharge control valves for locks.
[0030] Valve wells and other facilities can be installed based on existing technology, along with upstream water level sensors and other information acquisition devices, as well as navigation areas and navigation structures. The control system / control setup of the lock can be used to implement coordinated control of the lock's underwater spillway control valves and other valves / gates, thereby achieving control of the height-adjustable dam body and the underwater overflow control valves of the spillway (if applicable).
[0031] As a preferred embodiment, the top of the spillway is equipped with a height-adjustable dam body. See also Figure 2 For example, when the height-adjustable dam body adopts a rubber dam structure, the rubber airbags 25 used to construct the rubber dam can be fixedly installed on the top of the rigid body of the overflow dam. If necessary, a transverse groove for housing the airbag may or may not be provided on the top of the rigid body of the overflow dam. The size (especially the depth) of the transverse groove should be sufficient to fully accommodate the uninflated (airless) rubber airbag, and during inflation, the rubber airbag will gradually extend upwards from the transverse groove, with its maximum extension height meeting the height adjustment requirements of the overflow dam. In this way, under normal conditions, the rubber airbag is entirely within the transverse groove, which helps reduce damage and is aesthetically pleasing.
[0032] The underwater water passage pipe 37 of the overflow dam can be any suitable water pipe according to actual conditions, such as ductile iron pipe, pressure steel pipe, or reinforced concrete pipe. The underwater water passage control valve 38 can be installed on the outlet side of the underwater water passage pipe, and the damping energy dissipation device 39 can be installed on the inlet side of the underwater water passage pipe. The damping energy dissipation device can adopt any suitable existing technology, such as an energy dissipation grid with a free-flowing inlet. If necessary, several damping holes (small holes) can also be provided on the inlet side of the underwater water passage pipe to dissipate energy by allowing water to enter through the damping holes. The diameter and number of damping holes are set according to actual needs.
[0033] The depth of the underwater overflow pipes at both ends from the corresponding water surface is set according to actual conditions to reduce noise. Auxiliary facilities such as waterproof sleeves, expansion joints, flanges, and water-stop rings can be installed as needed to improve reliability and seepage prevention performance.
[0034] Other facilities can be installed as needed. For example, a bridge 16 can be built across the river, with railings 17 installed on it to facilitate pedestrian access. Steps can be installed connecting the bridge and the various independent sections / work platforms of the lock to facilitate workers' access to the lock. The bridge's height should meet navigation requirements; it can be built downstream of the lock (lower lock head) to reduce the height requirement. Where appropriate, the spillway (upstream side) can be located below the bridge, exposing the waterfall / cascade area on the downstream side of the spillway for aesthetic purposes and to aid in its protection.
[0035] For scenic waterways, under normal circumstances, during the day (or when the sound of the overflow dam's plunge is permissible), the underwater spillway control valves of the lock can be closed, and overflow from the overflow dam can be used for discharge. At night (or when the sound of the overflow dam's plunge is not permissible), the underwater spillway control valves of the lock can be opened, and discharge can be carried out through the underwater spillway channels of the lock. The discharge flow rate (or equivalent / average flow rate) is controlled by adjusting the opening time and degree of the underwater spillway control valves to maintain the upstream water level. When appropriate, the height of the overflow dam can be increased so that the upstream water level is the same as during the day (when discharge is carried out through the overflow dam), preventing water from overflowing the overflow dam. If necessary, the underwater overflow control valves of the overflow dam can also be opened to obtain the required greater discharge capacity. During the passage of ships through the lock, the underwater spillway control valves of the lock can be closed (kept closed) to avoid interference with the lock chamber water level and flow.
[0036] Unless otherwise specified, the preferred and optional technical means disclosed in this invention can be arbitrarily combined to form several different specific embodiments when one preferred or optional technical means is a further limitation of another technical means.
Claims
1. An upstream water level control system combining an overflow dam and a lock, comprising an overflow dam and a lock arranged laterally side by side, the lock having an injection channel and a discharge channel, the injection channel having injection valves and the discharge channel having discharge valves, characterized in that... The water intake corridor is equipped with a bypass, with its two ends connected to the water intake corridor on the water intake side of the water intake valve and the water intake corridor on the water outlet side of the water intake valve, respectively. The bypass is equipped with an underwater discharge control valve for the lock.
2. The upstream water level control system combining the spillway dam and the lock as described in claim 1, characterized in that... The working gates of the ship lock are downward-opening arc-shaped gates.
3. The upstream water level control system combining the spillway dam and the lock as described in claim 1, characterized in that... The water filling gallery and the water discharge gallery are independent short galleries; or, the water filling gallery and the water discharge gallery share / form a long gallery, with the water filling valve located on the upper gate head side and the water discharge valve located on the lower gate head side, and the branch gallery / water conveyance hole located between the water filling valve and the water discharge valve.
4. The upstream water level control system combining the spillway dam and the lock as described in claim 1, characterized in that... The bypass is provided in the form of a pipe or corridor.
5. The upstream water level control system combining the spillway dam and the lock as described in claim 1, characterized in that... The underwater discharge control valve of the ship lock adopts a gate valve or an eccentric butterfly valve.
6. The upstream water level control system combining the spillway dam and the lock as described in claim 1, characterized in that... The backwater side of the spillway is stepped.
7. The upstream water level control system combining the spillway dam and the lock as described in any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that... The top of the spillway is equipped with a height-adjustable dam body.
8. The upstream water level control system combining the spillway dam and the lock as described in claim 7, characterized in that... The height-adjustable dam body adopts rubber dam, air shield dam or flap dam.
9. A method for controlling upstream water level by combining an overflow dam and a ship lock, characterized in that... Upstream water level control is implemented using an upstream water level control system combining an overflow dam and a lock, as described in any one of claims 1-8. When the sound of the overflow dam dropping is permissible, the underwater discharge control valve of the lock is closed, and the upstream water level is controlled by the overflow of the overflow dam. When the sound of the overflow dam dropping is not permissible, the underwater discharge control valve and the discharge valve of the lock are opened, and the filling valve is closed. The filling corridor and the discharge corridor are connected through the underwater discharge control valve and the discharge valve of the lock to form an underwater discharge channel of the lock, and the upstream water level is controlled by the discharge through the underwater discharge channel of the lock.
10. The upstream water level control method combining an overflow dam and a ship lock as described in claim 9, characterized in that... In the discharge mode where the upstream water level is controlled by the discharge through the underwater discharge channel of the lock, the underwater discharge control valve of the lock operates in either continuously open or intermittently open mode. When the underwater discharge control valve is continuously open, the opening degree of the valve is set or adjusted based on the upstream inflow rate and / or the difference between the upstream real-time water level and the upstream target water level, thereby controlling the discharge flow rate of the underwater discharge channel to keep the upstream water level within the target range. When the underwater discharge control valve is intermittently open, the opening and closing times of the valve, as well as the opening degree of the valve, are set or adjusted based on the upstream inflow rate and / or the difference between the upstream real-time water level and the upstream target water level, thereby controlling the discharge flow rate of the underwater discharge channel to keep the upstream water level within the target range.