Design and evaluation of an integrated FRP composite wicket gate

Abstract

Hydraulic gates need to be lightweight , corrosion-resistant, maintenance-free, and durable with high endurance under fatigue loads. All of these requirements could be challenges to be met using conventional materials like steel and concrete. However, with the emergence of advanced Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites for waterway structures, it has now been possible to achieve all of these physical and performance requirements in a cost-effective manner. Due to their lightness, excellent corrosion and wear resistance along with superior thermo-mechanical properties, FRPs have emerged as one of the best alternatives in the field of civil infrastructure. This paper covers several aspects of the design, manufacturing, testing, analysis, and field implementation of a novel integrated FRP wicket gate in Mississippi River lock and dam. The cellular FRP panel with foam core and integrated stiffening and fastening components has been analyzed to compute the bending stiffness both theoretically and experimentally and a good correlation has been obtained.

Effects of High Temperature and Different Salt Solutions on Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Composites’ Bonded Joint Durability Impact

“…The decomposition rate slows down significantly in the third stage, and eventually the quality of the samples with different aging times shows differences, mainly due to two reasons: firstly, because of the evaporation of water from the aged samples, and secondly, because of the degradation of some of the resins already present in the adhesive after the aging process. From the graph, it can be observed that the decomposition temperature of the samples in different aging environments is almost the same; in the salt solution experimental conditions this did not change the thermal stability of the adhesive significantly [40]. This can be demonstrated by the final remaining mass.…”

Advanced Manufacturing and Materials for Hydropower: Challenges and Opportunities

“…39 Although using FRPCs to manufacture runners is a high impact area, FRPCs offer similar advantages for other hydropower components as well. Other potential applications for FRPCs for hydropower components include composite bearings, 40 41 composite pipelines or conduits (Kasharin et al 2015), and composite wicket gates (Vijay et al 2016). In 2016, the US Army Corps of Engineers sponsored a project exploring using glass FRPCs to replace timber wicket gates.…”

Experimental study and flow analysis on a new design of water-retaining sluice gate

“…In water conservancy projects, sluice gates have been widely used for retaining water (Vijay et al 2016). As a type of water-retaining construction, there is more than one hundred years of history for the existence of the bottom shaft driving flap gate, a form of dam gate with special structures.…”

“…It not only has important academic significance, but also relates to key technologies of the project, so river problem research has important meaning. Vijay et al (Vijay et al 2016) conducted the design and evaluation of an integrated fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite wicket gate, and the authors introduced the advanced method of FRP to study the issues of hydraulic gates. It is also well-known that FRP is a cost-effective method to achieve the physical and performance requirements in engineering (Soti 2014;Rossum 2015).…”