Upstream vortices of a sluice gate: an experimental and numerical study

Abstract This paper aims to explore the effects of a sill under a standard sluice gate on the development of the intake vortices. In total, 200 experiments were carried out. Sills with different shapes and widths were considered both numerically and experimentally. Results indicated that using a sill changes the flow depth and upstream pressure. Using a silled gate causes a decrease in the amount of air entering the fluid. By increasing the sill width, the vortex intensity reduces and this reduction is further amplified by increasing the approach discharge. The experimental findings are also compared to the results from the numerical model Flow-3D with interesting agreements.