Start Date
2018 11:30 AM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Lodomez, Maurine (2018). In Situ Measurements and Mitigations of Nappe Oscillations – the Papignies and Nisramont Dams in Belgium. Daniel Bung, Blake Tullis, 7th IAHR International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures, Aachen, Germany, 15-18 May. doi: 10.15142/T3DS81 (978-0-692-13277-7).
Abstract
Although good practice in flap gate design recommends adding splitters on the crest to provide sufficient nappe aeration and thus prevent nappe oscillations, oscillation problems have been detected on the flap gates of the recently commissioned Papignies weir on the Dendre River in Belgium. These oscillations were causing vibrations of the actuators, which could lead to malfunctioning. In addition, they were generating noise nuisance for people living nearby. Similar problems were reported for the down lift gates of the Nisramont weir on the Ourthe River, also in Belgium. In this context, the paper presents field measurements performed first to define the range of upstream heads prone to cause downstream nappe oscillations and then, second, to quantify the effectiveness of additional splitters to mitigate the problem. In particular, measurements with monoaxial accelerometers on the gates, a microphone, cameras, including a high speed one, and an ultrasonic water level sensor have been performed and are compared. Data analysis shows a clear correlation between sound, image and accelerations dominant frequencies. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of adding an extra splitter between each existing splitter in order to avoid the occurrence of nappe oscillations. These in-situ measurements validate results from experimental tests performed at the Liege University on a large scaled model of a free surface weir aiming at determining the maximum spacing of splitters to avoid nappe oscillations.
In Situ Measurements and Mitigations of Nappe Oscillations – the Papignies and Nisramont Dams in Belgium
Although good practice in flap gate design recommends adding splitters on the crest to provide sufficient nappe aeration and thus prevent nappe oscillations, oscillation problems have been detected on the flap gates of the recently commissioned Papignies weir on the Dendre River in Belgium. These oscillations were causing vibrations of the actuators, which could lead to malfunctioning. In addition, they were generating noise nuisance for people living nearby. Similar problems were reported for the down lift gates of the Nisramont weir on the Ourthe River, also in Belgium. In this context, the paper presents field measurements performed first to define the range of upstream heads prone to cause downstream nappe oscillations and then, second, to quantify the effectiveness of additional splitters to mitigate the problem. In particular, measurements with monoaxial accelerometers on the gates, a microphone, cameras, including a high speed one, and an ultrasonic water level sensor have been performed and are compared. Data analysis shows a clear correlation between sound, image and accelerations dominant frequencies. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of adding an extra splitter between each existing splitter in order to avoid the occurrence of nappe oscillations. These in-situ measurements validate results from experimental tests performed at the Liege University on a large scaled model of a free surface weir aiming at determining the maximum spacing of splitters to avoid nappe oscillations.