Overview of Gate Operating Systems

By
A.K.Bajaj, Chief Engineer
&
S.K.G.Pandit, Director
Central Water Commission

General. Depending on the era of development and the mode of operation desired
(local, automatic, remote, etc.) gates, (radial, vertical-lift, hinged crest, etc.), are
operated by a wide variety of hoists. Usually there should be a dedicated individual
and properly designed lifting mechanism or hoist for each gate.

A function of gate size and lifting capacity, gate hoists may be motor-operated or
manually operated, or both. For large, heavy gates motor-operators are not only
necessary, but preferred to attain a reasonable operating time. Small to medium size
gates may have manual backup to the motor-operators, albeit speed of gate movement is
considerably slower. Small spillway or canal gates may depend solely on a manual-
operator (i.e., hand wheel, crank, etc.).

A wide range of hoists are deployed for the operation of hydraulic gates. The gates can
be operated by the action of the reservoir pressure, like drum gates, sector gates etc.
which do not require a host but are actuated by inlet and discharging pipes in the
recesses. As against this, some gates are required to be operated by a fixed hoist or by a
moving device. The fixed types of hoists are screw hoists, wire rope (rope drum ) hoists
roller chains and hydraulic cylinders operated with oil pressure. Movable hoisting
device are used mainly in the operation of the stoplogs and diversion gates or draft tube
bulk heads. Among the more common moving types of hoists are the hand or electric
traveling hoists, overhead cranes, gantry cranes and wheel or tractor mounted cranes.

The most common gate operating mechanisms are rope drum , also called as wire rope
type(Figure ‘1’) and hydraulic (Figure ‘2’). Screw hoists are also used for small gates
.The term "wire rope" obviously defines the gate lifting element. Hydraulic hoist
cylinders may be connected directly to the gate lifting lugs, or may be slave to wire rope
sheave systems. Also, chain hoists of commercial or special design are used to operate
gates. With hydraulics, virtually any gate operating force can be attained with small
high-pressure lifting cylinders. Large heavy gates may be counterbalanced to minimize
hoist capacity and machinery size. Power requirements are a function of gate weight and
lifting speed, with little variance in motor size for different types of hoists.

Wire Rope (Rope Drum) Hoists.

A typical wire rope hoist comprises dual drum units with (or without) speed-reduction
gearing, connected to a center drive unit via drive shafts (Figure ‘1’). Further speed
reduction may be provided in speed reducers (worm-gear or parallel- shaft) and gear
motor drives. An electrically-operated brake unit is provided to hold a set gate position
regardless of whether speed reducers are self-locking (or not). Simpler hoists will not
have drum unit reduction gearing, and the drums may be mounted on a common drive

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shaft spanning the gate bay walls, with the motor-operator located at one
end. Wire rope is probably the most common gate lifting element. Properly lubricated
and maintained, plow-steel or stainless steel wire rope will provide smooth hoisting
motion.

Steel wire rope hoists are used exclusively in facilities where the gate closure is made
by its own weight, for the cables cannot exert downward forces. Their use is very
common in dam gates (particularly radial and fixed-wheel gates) in which the friction
forces to be overcome are always less than the gate weight. In the basic design, it has
two drums provided with two helical grooves (right and left-hand) where the steel
cables connected to the gate leaf are coiled. The drums are installed one on each side of
the gate and operated by pairs of gears or speed reducers and one electric motor. The
torque is transmitted from one drum to the other through a coupling shaft. In gates with
small ratio width/height, the lifting can be performed by means of a single drum and a
cable set connected to the gate top center.

In general, the electric motors selected are three-phase AC, squirrel-cage induction
rotor, with maximum torque limited to 300 per cent of the rated torque. Electromagnetic
or hydraulic thrustor spring-operated shoe brakes are used for holding the suspended
gate. Brakes and motors are attached to the speed reducer input shaft. Brakes actuate
automatically when the current is switched off and should allow manual release during
power failure. The braking torque is 150 per cent of the torque corresponding to full load
motor torque. The gate lowering occurs by gravity and the lowering speed may be
controlled by motor energization in the direction of the descent or by means of an
automatic regulator (a fan brake, for example). Entire hoist mechanism is also checked
for break down torque condition of hoist motor as during gate jamming, application of
motor torque would reach significantly higher values and the structure of hoist and
machinery has to be safe for that condition.

Drums are designed according to the selected rope. Their length must accommodate in a
single layer the length of the cables required for the total lifting of the gate plus two
holding turns. In addition, with the gate closed, two turns of the cables should remain
coiled in the drum. Drum grooves are machined with the radius equal to 0.53 times the
cable diameter. The minimum diameter of drums and pulleys is chosen in function the
cable diameter and classification; it should follow the cable manufacturer specifications. As
a general practice, a minimum diameter equal to 25 times the cable diameter is adopted for
drums and pulleys. In order to provide for rope run-off, the permissible fleet angle in
relation to the pulley groove is usually limited to 3 degrees.

Material used in the manufacture of rope wire is stainless steel and galvanized or
polished steel. The rope wires must present a minimum breaking strength in the range of
1570 to 1770 MPa, which corresponds to the American classification of plow steel. Ropes
made of galvanized wires are used in certain applications where additional protection
against rusting is required (contact with water, for example). However, their minimum
effective breaking strength is 10 per cent less than ungalvanized wire rope. Stainless wire
ropes are made of 18-8 steel and present great resistance to corrosion; notwithstanding their
high cost, they are particularly recommended for submerged use. In India, most gate hoist
wire ropes are 6x36 and 6x37-class of construction. The construction is indicated by

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two numbers, the first giving the number of strands and the second being the number of
wires in each strand. Various arrangements of wire (Seale, Filler and Warrington) are used
in the construction of wire rope strands and do not affect the rope load capacity. When
selecting the wire rope, the designer must take into account that the flexibility is
inversely proportional to the wire diameter, whereas the abrasion resistance is directly
proportional to that diameter. Thus, comparing 6x19 and 6x37 wire ropes of the same
diameter, the first has greater resistance to abrasion, while the latter is more flexible.

The strands are wrapped in spirals about a central element, which is usually fiber or
steel wire. Fiber core gives greater flexibility to the cable; steel core have high resistance
to permanent deformation and increases the tensile strength. Ropes with steel core are
rated 7.5 per cent stronger than those with fiber core. Wire rope is made either preformed
or non-preformed. In preformed ropes the wires and strands are pre-shaped into a helical
form so that when laid to form the rope they tend to remain in place, with a minimum of
internal stresses. Preformed ropes are more flexible and have greater fatigue strength.

Lay of wire ropes - From left to right:

(a) right-regular lay; (b) left-regular lay; (c) right Lang lay; (d)
left Lang lay

Wire ropes are classified either regular lay or Lang lay, as illustrated in figure above.

Chain Hoists.

Chain hoists are similar to wire rope hoists, except that the gate lifting
element is chain (link-type or roller-type). Maintenance needs of the roller-type chain is
a concern. Hence chain hoists are obsolete now.

In the early 1900s, link-chain hoist systems were common (Figure ‘3’). On multiple-
gated spillways, one or two rail mounted hoist units were often provided. Link
disconnect latch mechanisms were embedded in the hoist bridge deck. With
obsolescence, and increasing loads, link-chain gave way to double-link roller-chain and
rope drum hoists.

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Lubricating a roller-type chain is a difficult, time-consuming process that allows oil and
grease to enter the waterway. Prudent material selection and the use of lube-free
bushings will take care of strength, corrosion resistance, environmental concerns, and
the overall life-cycle cost of the chain.

Hydraulic Hoists.

By mid 1900s, hydraulic-oil hoists were being used for spillway gate operation (Figure
‘2’). Early applications were limited to a single lifting cylinder to avoid synchronization
of stem travel. When hydraulic-oil hoists are used, a single lifting cylinder is usually
preferred. Where dual lifting cylinders are utilized, synchronization of stem travel is a
must for smooth non-binding gate motion. Equal stem travel for dual cylinders can be
attained with fluid lines of equal length, size, and fittings; flow dividers; and position
sensing servo-control equipment. An advantage of hydraulic operation is the ability to
operate several gates from one hydraulic power unit, and to interconnect power units for
backup gate operation (saving cost and complexity of multiple motors, speed reducers,
control equipment, etc. for individual hoists).

Due to many advantages associated with them, hydraulic oil drives have widely
superseded conventional hoists in the recent times. They are also found to be economical
and smooth in the operation.

Details regarding hydraulic hoists are covered separately and are available under this
programme.

Screw Hoists:

Screw hoists operate on the principle of a screw. They can be hand operated or
motorized. The hand operated screw hoists are limited to the operation of small gates
such as canal gates of slide or fixed wheel types. They are generally subjected to very
small heads and are loaded lightly. It comprises a vertical threaded stem connected to
the gate leaf and prevented from rotating, a stem nut and a mechanism that permits nut
rotation of the desired direction. The nut may be operated by a hand wheel, or indirectly
by means of bevel or worm gear systems. The nut also has a strut function and is usually
supported on roller bearings. It has to be designed to support the gate weight, stem
weight and all applicable forces such as frictional forces. In general, nuts are made of
aluminum bronze, which presents good mechanical strength and a low friction
coefficient. This mechanism is normally installed within a frame and mounted on a cast-
iron pedestal screwed to the operating deck.

The stem is subjected to tensile stresses during lifting and to compressive stresses
during lowering (in case of slide gates), and should be designed as a column. The stems
can be made of Carbon Steel, Mild Steel or Forged Steel . SAE 4140 alloy steel or AISI
416 stainless steel are also adopted. They are provided with square or ACME threads,
with lead equal to the pitch.

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 (a) (b)

Fig. Shapes of (a) square and (b) ACME threads

The screw lift may be driven by electric motors. Its operation is reliable, yet presents
low efficiency and high cost when compared with wire rope hoists. Being self-locking,
it cannot be used in installations where the gate closure is required under its own weight
in the event of power failure. In motor driven screw lifts, a load limiter is provided to
avoid excessive compression on the stem during the gate closure. This system can be
further completed with a position indicator and limit switches corresponding to the gate
travel extreme positions.

Gantry Cranes:

Gantry cranes and various types of mobile cranes like are used to handle different
gate equipment depending upon the planning of maintenance operations of particular
projects.

Emergency closure gates must be handled by a rail-mounted gantry crane, whereas

maintenance gate and stoplog handling is either carried out by a rail-mounted gantry
crane or a mobile crane. Gantry cranes can be used to transport maintenance gates and
stoplogs from their storage area to the sluiceway whereas a mobile crane cannot, as a
rule, transport heavy gates or stoplogs.

Different functions are often carried out by the same crane. In Figure ‘4’, it can service
the operating gate and place the maintenance gate. In other installations it is used for
servicing the operating gate and as a means of placing stoplogs or an emergency closure
gate. When the crane has a cantilever runway with an auxiliary hoist, it can also raise a
removable screen of the trash racks. In a limited number of intakes, mainly freestanding
in a reservoir and accessed by a bridge, the gantry crane servicing the operating gate can
also place the emergency closure gate and mounts integrally raking machinery, carrying
out the same functions as the trash rack cleaning machines. Creep speeds on all motions
of a gantry crane should be provided to enable accurate positioning. Creep speeds
should be about 1/10 to 1/15 of normal motion speeds.

Operating Machinery Selection

The type of operating machinery can include either the wire rope hoist or hydraulic hoist
and the selection of type should be based on project specific conditions. For a new
design, the primary advantages of the wire rope hoist ( in case of radial gate) are that the

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connection is easily made on the upstream face of the gate (increases moment arm for
lifting force) and that there are no environmental concerns of oil spillage. For repair or
rehabilitation of existing projects, wire rope hoists may be the only practical alternative.
Advantages of hydraulic hoists include the following:

a) They are generally more economical especially for relatively large lifting capacities;

b) They can apply force in opening and closing;

c) Several gates can be operated with the same power unit;

d) They require low maintenance compared to wire rope systems; and

e) They generally require shorter piers for support compared to wire rope systems.

2-12. Recommendations

Based on past and present experience regarding gate reliability, operation, maintenance,
and cost; many types of gates and their operating systems are no longer considered
viable. Hence, the following recommendations are provided.

Avoid using the following hoists for spillway gates:

• Screw stem type,

• Pinion and rack type,
• Hoists depending entirely on manual operation,
• Non-bushed chains subject to corrosion, and
• Gantry crane and/or traveling trolley hoist (except under certain circumstances).

Most commonly used spillway gates and hoists are:

• Radial gates, operated with rope drum or hydraulic hoists

• Fixed-wheel gates, operated with rope drum or hydraulic hoists
• Hinged crest gates, operated by hydraulic hoists
• Fuse gates, operated by water pressure
• Rubber dams, operated by air or fluid pressure under inflated fabric
• Wire rope hoists,
• Chain hoists, and
• Hydraulic hoists.

Provide on-line automatic back-up engine-generator set of adequate capacity for

spillway gate operation in case of power supply failure.