The effect of barrier on the hydraulic response of composite weir-gate structure

The composite weir-gate structure is considered an important hydraulic structure. This is because of its widely used in civil engineering hydraulic works especially in an irrigation system to measure, control, divert and keep the required water level. This study focuses on the influence of barrier existence on the hydraulic parameters that described the hydraulic characteristics of composite weir-gate hydraulic structure. In this study, several experimental runs were conducted to determine the effect of barrier's location, spacing and number on the water level and depth at the downstream region of flume, discharge coefficient of composite hydraulic structure, and flow rate throughout the flume. Our experiments indicated that the turbulence intensity, inlet effect, and position, gap, and number of barriers have affected the hydraulic behavior of weir-gate structure. This appears clearly by obtaining different results of discharge coefficient and flow rate that cross the weir-gate structure comparing with same cases without barriers. Also this study gives some insights on the significance roles of fluid separation, eddies generation near the barrier, fluid resistance and overlap between overflow and underflow velocities and their effects on hydraulic factors that dominate the problem. These hydraulic factors must be considered in the design and construction of barrier/barriers in open channel to prevent any fluctuation or drop in discharge, water elevation and the required water depth at downstream region.