The Hydroplus Fusegate System - f our years on.

S CHEVALIER - P roj ec t Engi neer - Hydroplus I nternati onal

S T CULSHAW - Area Manager - Hydropl us I nternati onal
J P .FAUQUEZ - P r si dent - Hydr opl us I nternati onal
SYNOPSIS.
The Hydropl us f usegates c an be ut i l i z ed for i nc reasi ng li v e storage c apac i ty
of dams w i t h ungated spi l l w ays and/ or f or i mprov i ng spi li w ay safety w i thout
sac ri fi c i ng storage c apac i ty they are designed to rotate ( ti lt) in succession
w hen th rservoir lev! reaches predetermined l v ations thereby preventing.
t h flood f rom ov ertoppi ng t h dam. This paper discusses v aryi ng
approac hes i n th use of t h System to solv e th problem of safety w orldw i de
i nc l udi nu th Dov e St one r serv oir i n th North West of Enul and.
I NTRODUCTI ON.
Under normal c ondi t i ons fusegates inc rease th , ac tiv e storage area of
r serv oirs The l ab yr i nt h w ei r c onf i gur at i on allow s for increased disc harge at
low er heads t han c onv ent i onal spi llw ays The fusegate design allow s for th
fusegates to ov erturn dur i ng hi gh or extrme flood ev ents thereby allow i ng
more flow t hrough th spi l i w ay Thse Systems c an increase th ac tiv e
storage of a r serv oir and inc rease t h di sc harge c apac i ty for extrme ev ents
so t hat th design flood may pass w i t hout ov ertoppi ng th exi sti ng dam and
thus reduc ing or ei i mi nat i ng t h need for increasing th dam height
THE CONCEPT.
The Hydroplus system c onsi sts of one or more adj ac ent but i ndependent
fusegate uni t s resti ng on t h ov erspi ll si ll and held i n plac e solely by grav i ty
forces. The f usegates are ov ertopped by moderate floods In case of larger
floods. some l ments are ov rturned by r ot at i ng ab out lugs loc ated at th
dow nstream edge of t h si l l The numb er of uni ts ac ti v ated aw ay i s graded to
sui t th hydrogrnph of th par t i c ul ar expec ted flood and matc h th requi red
disc harge flow
Eac h uni t sits f reei y on a c onc rte slab c emented i nt o th crest and c onsists
of three parts
* The f auc k et i t o p par t ) made of steei or rei nforc ed c onc rte w i th c an
be giv en a l ab yr i nt h shnpe to i nc rease th ov erspill length so that moderate
floods c an be di sc harged w i t h a rel ati v el y small head on th l i p.
* The b ottom c hamb er base made of steel or rei nf orc ed concrte.
* The w ei l a f unnel l ed c ondui t i nto th c hamber w hi c h begi ns to f i l l
for a giv en r serv oi r lev el Wells are set at di f f rent l v ati ons.
The rservoir as an asset. Thomas Telford. London, 1996
CHEVALIER ETAL 133
When r serv oir level reaches a given l v ation, w ater flow s through th well
i nto th c hamber Pressure b ui lts up in th bottom chamber and w hen
suf c i ent v ertical upl i f t lias been mobiiiz ed, th fusegate rottes about th
abutment block s located at th dow nstream edge of th sill. The triggering
system is very prcise and leav es an ample safety margin until th rservoir
level reaches th predetermined l v ation ac tiv ating a given lment.
The fusegate on th spi i lw ay crest is ac ti ng in three diff rent ways depending
on headw ater level
* As part of th dam. as long as th rservoir level does not exceed
th fusegate buc k et top edge
* as a w eir, w hen hendw ater level is hi gher than th fusegate top edge
but lower than th predetermined level causing th fusegate to overturn
* As a "fuse" or a regular spiilw ay gte w hen headw ater reaches thi s
predetermined level and triggers th upli f t
Once th flood lias receded. th ov erturned f usegate is si mply li fted bac k on
th sill or replaced w ith an identic ai new uni t if seriously damaged
E.xtensiv e theoreti c al research has been c onduc ted on fusegate performanc e
when spilling and rotating and thorough model testing programs were
performed to v alidate th matli emati c al approac h
Testing of fusegates was performed at th Tennessee Vailey Authority
f ac i li ti es at Norris (Tenn ). Thse tests v ali dated very precisely th behav iour
of th Hydroplus fusegates under v arious c irc umstanc es and c ondi ti ons.
Also. Ice has been th subj ec t of sp c ifie research at th Insti tute for Mari ne
Dynami c s of th Nati onal Researc h Counc il, in St J ohn's, Canada and at th
Sc i enti f i c Research I nst i t ut e of Energy Struc tures, in Moscow, Russia
Water inlet
Ballast
Drain hole
Underface Abutment block
Water is spilling overthe crest
34 / THE RESERVOIR AS AN ASSET
Water inlel
Ballast
Underface
Drain hole
Abutment block
The inlet stack admits water
Water inlet \
Ballast
Underface
Abutment block
The fusegate tips off
FUSEO'ATE CONFIGURATIONS.
The fusegate System may form a labyri nth or straight crest to th weir.
1 - Labyrinth Crest Fuseuates
A buc k et shape is used to form a labyri nth crest capable of overspilling a
nappe quivalent to 30 - 150% of th fusegate height. The buck et is open at
th upstream side An ali gnment of buc k ets forms a labyrinth crest w hich
allow s moderate floods to spill w i th a reduced head on th crest. The
developed length of th l ab yri nth is approximateiv three times that of a
concrte sill length. The buck et height is commonly 1m to 6.5m, depending
on th clients needs.
2 - Straight Crested Fuseuates
There are three types of straight-crested fusegates :
Emergenc y Fiisegntes are designed to ov erttirn before or j ust after being
overtopped. They are used as bac k -up to conv entional gtes in th event of
very large floods or gte mai f unc t i on. They may be 1m to 10m in height.
CHEVALIER ETAL /35
Intense Cold Env i ronment Fiisegates are designed to be very stable and
their upstream face are shaped and f i ni shed to reduce ice loading, fric tion and
abrasion.
Hi gh ff ends Fusegates are designed to w ithstand hi gh heads on th fusegate
crest They are c onstruc ted to obtai n th best discharge coefficient and may
be large (20m w ide) and c apable of remai ni ng stable w hen spilling under a
head of up four times thei r height
Oversptlllxg crest
D/S abutment btock
/
SUe abtamta bleck
Dotonstream
Concrte stU
V/S seai stnp
Upstream view of abyrinth crest ftisegate
Drain boles
Pressure cbamber
Base
Bottom view of labyrinh crest fusegate
36 / THE RESERVOIR AS AN ASSET
CASE STUDES.
Case I
Lussas Dam in th South-Central France provides irrigation water for
agric ulture on th Lussas pi ai n The dam is an earth construction 19.5m high
The spilhvay is situated on th left bank and is 36m in length.
The runo/F pattern is governed by sudden. heavy storms on th relativelv
large catchment (26.2 k m) vvhich accounts for a large design flood. The
spiTlway vvas modified and th fusegates i nstalled in two summer months of
1991 to increase th rservoir storage c apac ity. The rservoir was
successfully filled in time for crop irrigation soon after. During a flood in th
w i nter of 994 one fusegate ov erturned at th correct w ater l v ation and
w as replaced soon after for th rservoir to f i ll for th next crop season.
* - New storaue capacity 420,000 cubic mtres
* -Si l I length" " 35m
* - New spilhvay capacity 250 c ubic mtres per second
* - Fusegate number 10
* - Fusegate height 2.15 mtres
* - Fusegate w i dth , 3 5 mtres
* - Slorage increase 30%
* - Spilhvay c apac i ty increase 15%
Case 2
The Wanak bori pic k -up Weir in Guj arat State in India w as bui lt to collect
w ater to irrigate two hundred thousand hectares of agricultural land
Subs quent constructions of several dams upstream resulted in higher flood
control and so reduced by 2 mtres th \v ater head av ailable at th weir No
c onv entional method was cost effectiv e to restore th requested head on th
678 m long spilhv ay.
The Hydroplus solution consisted in th i nstallati on of thirty three straight
crested high overspill concrte fusegates tw o meter high and tw enty mtre
long.
The first fusegate ti l t for a flood of about 20 000 cubic mtres per second
\v hic h correspond to a 6 mtres overspill over t h fusegates.
* - New storage capacity 8-4.000,000 cubic mtres
* - Sill length ~ 675 mtres
* - New spilhvay capacity 4~ .000 mtres per second
* - Fusegate number 33
* - Fusegate height 2 mtres
* - Fusegate w idth 20 mtres
* -Storage increase 100%
* - Spilhvay capacity increase nil
Case 3
Caillaouas Dam is at an alti tude of 2.170 mtres in th French Pyrnes, f t is
a masonry structure at th end of small but very deep natural Iak e. Three
straight crested fusegates hve been installed. to improve dam safety. A flap
gte lias also been installed to discharge moderate floods. The fusegates give
The extra capacity to discharge th design flood. The combination of a flap
gte and fusegates pr sents t h two-fold adv antage of good control of th
CHEVALIER ETAL 1 37
rservoir level Because of th area in \v hic h th dam is located, th fusegates
were transported and i nstalled by helic opter The op ration nianuai for th
c lient i nc ludes requirements for ic e c ondi ti ons
* - Storage c apac i ty 25,400.000 cubic mtres
* - Sill length 7 4 mtres
* - New spilhv ay capacity 29 3 cubic mtres per second
* - Fusegate nurnb er 3
* - Fusegate hei ght 1 5 mtres
* - Fusegate w i dth 1 6 mtres
* - Storage increase nil
* - Spilhvay capacity increase 1 90%
Case 4
The Shongw eni Dam i s loc ated i n Kw a Zul u i n Natal i n th Repub li c of
South Africa. The dam was ori gi nally b ui l t in th 1920's, th ungat ed
spilhv ay w as 1 26 mtres The ori gi nal design flood w as rated at 1 ,250 c ubic
mtres per second Alter inspection in 1988 th design flood was re-
evaluated at 5.000 cubic mtres per second The new safety requirements
w ere not satisficd for tw o reasons. ( a) th dam struc ture w as inad quate and
(b) th spilhv ay c ould not disc harge th re-ev aluated design flood. The c l i ent
examin e! f our alternati v es but settled on low eri ng th spilhv ay by 8 mtres
The spilhv ay w as eut bac k 7 9 mtres and ten 6 5 mtres high fusegates w ere
installed The resuit was that th rservoir level was lowered only by 1 4
mtres The first fusegate is designed to tip for a flood that occurs every 240
years Each fusegate weight was some 120 tonnes and since th cablew ay
sa te w ork i ng load w as 5 tonnes t h st r uc t ur al design had to be adapted to
meet th w eight l i mi t at i on
* - Storage c apac i ty 6,600.000 cubic mtres
* - Sill length 126 mtres
* - New, spilhv ay capacity 5.000 cubic mtres per sec
* - Fusegates number 1 0
* - Fusegate hei ght 6 5 mtres
* - Fusegate w i dth 9 73 mtres
* - Storage increase nil
* - Spilhv ay capacity increase 235%
Case 5
The Mc Clure Dam located in New Mexic o. USA is an earth struc ture w i th a
max i mum head of 38 6 mtres and a crest length of 234 mtres The dam
w as bui lt m th l^j O' s and raised
three time in 1936. 1947 and I98S In 1988 th 17 mtres spilhv ay was
rec onstmc ted Wi t h tw o other grav i ty dams, Mc Clure supplied domestic
w ater to th city of Santa Fe unti a large c rac k w as f ound in th f oundati on
of Tw o Mi le dam I n February 1995. th operator w as allow ed by th State
authori ti es to transf er th w ater ri ghts to McClure dam In April 1995, eight
steel fusegates were installed on th Ogee crested sill The Hydroplus
concept had successfully increased liv e rservoir storage capacity by 0 62
li m' and spilhvay discharge c apac i ty by 8 per cent
* - Storage c apac i ty 3.820.000 c ub i c mtres
* - Sill l enut h 17 3 mtres
38 / THE RESERVOIR AS AN ASSET
* - New spiliw ay c apac ity 507 cubic mtres per sec
* - Fusegate numb er 8
* - Fusegate hei ght 2. 15 mtres
* - Fusegate w i dth 2. 13 mtres
* - Storage inc rease 500 acre-feet
* - Spi li w ay c apac i ty inc rease 8%
Case 6.
The Dove Stone Dam is an earth struc ture si tuated under Saddlew orth Moor
8 k m east of Oldham in Lanc ashi re. Calc ulati ons and 1:21 mode! tests
i ndi c ated that th exi sti ng b el l mouth in th rservoir c ould pass
approxi matel y 160 cumecs The requi red discharge for th PMF being
approxi mately 300 cumecs an aux i l i ar y spi li w ay w as required to meet safety
c ri teri a Three fusegates w ere i nstal l ed i nt o th new 9.8 mtre w ide auxi li ary
spi li w ay The fusegates are designed to ti l t off th spillv v ay 0.53, 0.58 and
0 63 mtres abov e th l i p of each fusegate respectiv ely. The fusegates are
designed to rotate in suc c ession betw een th 1 in 10,000 years flood ev ent
and th P MF thereby prev ent i ng th flood f rom ov ertopping th dam.
* - Storage c apac i ty 5,050,000 cubic mtres
* - Sill length 9 8 mtres
* - New spi li w ay c apac i ty 282 c ubic mtres per sec
* - Fusegate numb er 3
* - Fusegate Hei ght 2. 15 mtres
* - Fusegate w i dth 3 23 mtres
* - Storage increase Nil
* - Spi li w ay c apac i ty inc rease 42%
CONCLUSI ON.
Hydroplus Fusegate Systems are being used Worl dw i de i nc ludi ng th Uni ted
Ki ngdom, Chi na. South Ameri c a. Uni t ed States of Americ a, parts of Afric a
and South East Asia and areas of Europe The System has prov ed and
establi shed ils v ersati li ty in appl i c at i on, in th use of materials. methods of
c onstruc ti on and logistics
The Hydroplus Fusegate System j s a method by w hic h dam safety and/ or
storage c apac ity c an be ac hiev ed in a cost effec ti v e manner.
REFERENCES.
Lemp rire F., Bessire C ( 1992) Hydropl us submersi ble fusegates for
surfac e spilhv ays. Modi f i c at i on of dams to ac c omodate maj or floods
Tuei f t h Annual USCOLD Lec ture S ries, Fort Worth, Texas.
Lemp rire. F.(1992) Ov erspi ll fusegates. Water Pow er & Dam
Construc ti on..
Bessire C. (1992) Hydropl us submersi ble flisegates for surface spiliw ay.
I nt er nat i onal Symposium on Dams and Extrme Floods, Granada Spai n,
Tomo I, Topic A : Design
CHEVAUERET4L/39
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40 / THE RESERVOIR AS AN ASSET
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