Colloquia

Summary

The Netherlands is well known for the country’s relationship with water, for which the use of infrastructure is crucial. Examples are cannels, bridges, dikes and navigation locks. Navigation locks provide passage for vessels between two different levels of water. An important component of navigation locks are the gates, which close the lock so the water level can be adjusted. Different types of gates exist, however for large locks rolling gates are commonly used.  

Rolling gates move perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the lock and are exposed to siltation. Siltation is the accumulation of sediments (e.g. silt, sand and mud) at locations where it’s disadvantageous. Thus, in this research a system is designed to effectively remove the siltation from rolling gates. An effort is made to involve experts in the design from start to finish.

Analysis with expert interviews discovered the siltation problem of rolling gates could be divided into four different area’s and the design is focussed on one specific area: the gate recess. Subsequently, a total of twelve concepts are designed, which are reduced to two concepts with an elaborate concept selection process involving experts.

One concept makes use of waterjets, while the other concept uses a scoop. To provide objective information, the two remaining concepts are exposed to extensive prototype testing, e.g. optimal jet configuration, scoop configuration, how to lower and raise the systems and more. The information is used for a final round of concept selection with the experts, leading to the final concept.

The final concept is the concept with waterjets. The angles of the jets are crucial for the concept. The concept is mobile, easy to use and effective in removing the siltation from the gate recesses. The experts have proven to be extremely useful in the design process, both for a better understanding of the siltation problem as well as for the definition and concept selection steps.