Using side flow jets as a scour countermeasure downstream of a sluice gate

Background Local scour is one of the main problems affecting the stability and operation of control hydraulic structures. Many techniques were used to control the resulting scour. In the recent study, a new technique was used to control local scour downstream single-gate hydraulic regulator by using side flow jets. This study aimed to demonstrate the effect of side jets at different angles on the local scour parameters (depth, length, and volume) and energy dissipation in the downstream hydraulic regulator. Results A physical model was used to represent the open channel, regulator, and the side jets with different angles. Five flow discharges, four jet angles, and three gate openings were applied through the experiment. The experiment results showed that the presence of side jets had a remarkable effect on the parameters of the local scour hole and energy dissipation. They dissipated more energy of hydraulic jump than in the absence of jets, and consequently, scour hole dimensions were significantly reduced. Regression analysis was used to deduce equations that can predict the development of local scour downstream sluice gate considering the inclination angle of side flow jets under different flow conditions. Conclusions Side flow jets can be used as scour reducer techniques with the advantages of eliminating the jet clog produced from sediments and suspended solids.

The effects of splitters on the downstream scour hole of overflow spillways: application of support vector regression

One of the most effective ways to reduce the water jet erosion power during dam overflow is to use splitters on the lower side of spillway. The dimensions of scouring holes and their location in the dam basin should be accurately determined. Experimental models and data driven techniques can be effectively used for estimating the dimensions of scouring holes. The focus of this paper is evaluating the effects of splitters on the downstream scour hole of overflow spillways and providing an optimized splitter configuration. The Support Vector Regression (SVR) method performance in predicting the scour hole dimensions and its location downstream of the dam has been examined using 116 experimental data. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed model, we used different statistical measures. The results show that the presence of splitters decreases the slope of downstream scouring in all situations. It is also shown that the SVR method can accurately estimate the dimensions of the scour hole and its location.

Influence of European Beech (Fagales: Fagaceae) Rot Hole Habitat Characteristics on Invertebrate Community Structure and Diversity

Hollows of veteran trees (i.e., rot holes) provide habitat for many rare and threatened saproxylic invertebrates. Rot holes are highly heterogeneous, particularly in terms of substrate and microclimate conditions. There is, however, a dearth of information regarding the differences in biological communities inhabiting rot holes with different environmental conditions. Invertebrates were sampled from European beech (Fagus sylvatica) rot holes in Windsor, Savernake, and Epping Forests (United Kingdom). For each rot hole, physical and environmental conditions were measured, including tree diameter, rot hole dimensions, rot hole height, substrate density, water content, and water potential. These parameters were used to assess the influence of environmental conditions and habitat characteristics on invertebrate communities. Rot hole invertebrate communities were extremely diverse, containing both woodland generalist and saproxylic specialist taxa. Large variation in community structure was observed between rot holes and across woodlands; all sites supported threatened and endangered taxa. Environmental conditions in rot holes were highly variable within and between woodland sites, and communities were predominantly structured by these environmental conditions. In particular, turnover between invertebrate communities was linked to high β-diversity. The linked heterogeneity of environmental conditions and invertebrate communities in rot holes suggests that management of deadwood habitats in woodlands should strive to generate environmental heterogeneity to promote invertebrate diversity. Additional research is required to define how management and conservation activities can further promote enhanced biodiversity across rot holes.

Improved Treatment Distribution Through Oriented Perforating

Perforation-imaging studies have indicated highly variable results on effectively treating all perforation clusters within a given fracturing stage in horizontal well plug-and-perf applications, even when limited entry designs were used. A field test was executed to trial differing perforating designs and levels of perforation friction for identifying a preferred technique for evenly distributing treatment volume along the lateral. The test was implemented in a horizontal well in the Eagle Ford formation of south Texas. After treatment and plug drill-out operations were completed, a downhole camera was run to visualize perforation entry holes along the entire lateral section. Shaped perforating charges described as equal entry hole charges were used in all stages. The resulting images were analyzed to determine entry hole dimensions and erosion characteristics to determine if alternate perforating strategies provided improved results, as compared to the standard design of multi-phase perforating with 1200 psi of perforation friction. Test results indicate that orienting perforations in a straight line (zero-phase) along the high side of the wellbore significantly improved treatment distribution among perforation clusters. Oriented perforating achieved this benefit without needing to increase initial perforation friction beyond the area standard of 1200 psi. Another result from this project was development of a statistical process for evaluating perforation entry hole erosion data. Entry hole erosion datasets are complex and difficult to analyze. The statistical process presented in this paper demonstrates a clear way to compare the effectiveness of different perforation designs. This paper also covers the operational difficulties encountered during the project which added complexity to analyzing the results. Lastly, this paper offers suggestions for future modifications for oriented perforation designs to further improve limited entry effectiveness.

Development of the Attachable Skin for Enhancing the Thermal Resistance of Robots

Intense heat from fire can result in significant damage to firefighting robots. To avoid this damage, numerous studies have been conducted on the thermal insulation of firefighting robots using electrical motors and sensors that can not withstand high temperatures. In this paper, we present an attachable skin for enhancing the thermal resistance of firefighting robots using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), where a wet chemical extinguishing agent is injected into the holes on PDMS. The pilot experiment was conducted to verify the thermal insulation performance of a wet chemical extinguishing agent compared to water. Several experiments were also carried out with different diameters, depths, shapes, and degrees of PDMS holes to determine optimum hole dimensions. The results demonstrated that the thermal resistance of PDMS skin is related to the capacity of the wet chemical extinguishing agent. In addition, the performance of the PDMS skin can be verified by its variation according to the ignition time.

Estimation of the Compressive Strength of Corrugated Cardboard Boxes with Various Openings

This paper presents mixed analytical/numerical method for estimating the static top-to-bottom compressive strength of corrugated packaging with different ventilation openings and holes, in which the torsional and shear stiffness of corrugated cardboard as well as the panel depth-to-width ratio are included. Analytical framework bases on Heimerls assumption with a modification to a critical force, which is here computed by a numerical algorithm. The proposed method is compared herein with the successful McKee formula and is verified with the large number of experiment results of various packaging designs made of different qualities of corrugated cardboard. The results show that, for various hole dimensions or location of openings in no-flap and flap boxes, the estimation error may be reduced up to three times than in the simple analytical approach.

Analysis of Lateral Dynamic Response of Caisson Foundation in Layered Clayey Soils considering Scour-Hole Dimensions

As a cross-sea or river deep-water foundation, it is clear that the caisson foundation will be subjected to significant lateral dynamic loads due to winds or waves and suffer from scouring under its long-term effect. In order to obtain the scour effect on the dynamic response of the foundation, an analytical model describing the scour-hole effect in terms of scour depth, scour width, and slope angle was constructed. Combined with the nonlinear Winkler theory, a method for the dynamic response of the caisson foundation considering the scour-hole dimensions was proposed. Comparisons against the results from the dynamic FEM demonstrate the reliability of this method. The effects of the scour width, slope angle, and scour depth on the dynamic response of the caisson were discussed. The results show that the scour depth affects the dynamic displacement and resonant frequency of the foundation most, whereas the scour width does less and the slope angle does the least; the dynamic response of caisson can be approximated as the case of the slope angle 5° and the scour width 5B when the slope angle is less than 5° and the scour width is greater than 5B, respectively; the effects of scour width and slope angle on the dynamic response of caisson have the similar change pattern in the displacement and resonant frequency when the scour depth is different. However, the effect of amplitude on dynamic response shows a nonlinear increase trend when the scour depth is relatively large.