Academic literature on the topic 'Howell-Bunger valve'

Bottom outlets are significant structures of dams, which are responsible for controlling the flow rate, operation, or removal of reservoir sedimentation. The service gate controls the outlet flow rate, and whenever this gate is out of order, the emergency gate which is located at upstream is utilized. The cavitation phenomenon is one of the common bottom outlets’ problems due to the rapid flow transfer. The present research is a numerical study of the flow pattern in a dam’s bottom outlet for different gate openings by the use of Flow-3D software and RNG k-ε turbulence model. The investigation is carried out on the Sardab Dam, an earth dam in Isfahan (Iran). The maximum velocity for 100% opening of the gate and Howell Bunger valve is about 18 m/s in the section below the gate, and the maximum velocity for 40% opening of the gate is equal to 23.1 m/s. For 50% opening of the service and emergency gate in the valve’s upstream areas, the desired pressure values are reduced. Moreover, in the areas between the two emergency and service gates, the pressure values are reduced. The possibility of cavitation in this area can be reduced by installing aerators. The flow pattern in Sardab Dam’s bottom outlet has relatively stable and proper conditions, and there are no troublesome hydraulic phenomena such as local vortices, undesirable variations in pressure, and velocity in the tunnel, and there is no flow separation in the critical area of flow entering into the branch.

The thesis aims to determine the influence partial or complete submerge of hollow cone valve by outflow on its capacity without space restrictions, by outflow into discharge chamber and by outflow into water tunnel of circular cross section. The valve capacity is for mutual comparability purposes usually characterized by discharge coefficient. Research works have been performed on a spatial hydraulic model of the valve with inlet diameter D = 67 mm and an apex angle of a cone 90°. Values of the discharge coefficient obtained from measurements were statistically analyzed. The dependence of discharge coefficient, expressed by energy head, on submerged level was approximated by an exponential function. Exponent value of this function express the dependance rate of valve capacity on downstream water level. This procedure didn’t demonstrate signifiant dependance downstream water level on hollow cone valve capacity, only on tests at outflow to water tunel showed a low increase in the discharge coefficient partly due to the influence of kinetic energy of the stream flowing out of the tunnel on the energy head and also due to underpressure. Independence of discharge coefficient value on valve head has been prooved for head greather than 232 mm. Also was defined 3 stages of interaction outflow jet from valve and downstream water, some of them may cause on real waterworks structures unfavorable situations (may affect excessive load on valve by pressure pulsations). The presented results allow better evaluation of bottom outlets capacity at higher water levels, when the valves are flooded. Significant effect of sufficient aeration (especially in long water tunnels) on valve capacity was also confirmed. Taking into account on the specifics of hollow jet valves and cone valves, it is possible to generalize some of this resultos on them as well.