Effect of Gates Operation on Maximum Scour Downstream of Kahlaa Regulator
Abstract
Regulators and other hydraulic structures are crucial for managing flow in open channels. Unpredictable scour patterns are produced when such structures' gates are operated improperly. The purpose of the study is to look into the optimal functioning of the Al-Kahlaa Regulator's gates in Iraq, focusing on sediment movement and sedimentation issues. In this research, Flow-3D software, specifically the turbulent RNG model, was used to simulate water flow and sediment scour theory to simulate sediment movement under different flow conditions and gate opening options. According to the study, the number of open gates and how they are operated have a big impact on how scour develops downstream of the regulator. The maximum scour depth value was recorded when one gate was opened, which was 13-times more compared to the case when all gates were opened for the flow rate of 125 m3/s. On the other hand, in case of one gate was opened the maximum scour depth was recorded at 2.05 m when the rate of flow was 50 m3/s and 3 m at 200 m3/s, equivalent to 1.5 times increase. In general, the maximum scour depth downstream of the regulator decreases as the number of open gates increases.
