Numerical Investigation of Successive Sluice Gates Performance in Regulating Flow Rate in Channels

Abstract

Successive sluice gates are designed to maintain a stable discharge rate in open channels despite variations in upstream water levels. This study numerically investigates the hydraulic performance of successive sluice gates under different operational conditions. Four gate configurations and five upstream flow depths were simulated to analyze their flow regulation efficiency. The numerical results were validated against experimental data, revealing differences in outlet discharge of less than 10%, indicating that the simulation model provides reliable accuracy. Following model validation, the computed outflow rates for each configuration were compared with the corresponding design discharge, showing an average deviation of approximately 8% in all tested cases. These results confirm that successive sluice gates are capable of maintaining a nearly constant flow rate, even under fluctuating upstream water levels. Moreover, energy dissipation analysis showed that losses were negligible when only the first gate was active. However, as the upstream depth increased and additional gates were engaged, energy dissipation rose to about 15–22%. Overall, the findings demonstrate that successive sluice gate systems can effectively combine precise flow regulation with adequate energy dissipation, making them suitable for hydraulic structures requiring stable discharge control under variable inflow conditions.

Keywords

• Energy dissipation
• FLOW-3D software
• Input flow depth
• Output flow rate
• Successive sluice gates.

References

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