Hinged Floating Bulkhead Saves Time, Money on Hydro Projects
When a dam needs maintenance, operators need to get the water away from the structure so the work can be done. Achieving dry working conditions can be difficult and time consuming. The hinged floating bulkhead has proved to be a safe and speedy way to get the water out and repairs started. This dewatering system… Read More »
Tags: Bulkhead, Dam, Dam Repair, Hinged Floating Bulkhead, Hydropower, Powerhouse Intakes, Spillway Gates, Tainter Gates, Water Resources
Is Planning Easier with a Charrette? You Bet
Pronounced [shuh-ret] and spelled with either one or two r’s, a charrette is defined as “a public meeting or workshop devoted to a concerted effort to solve a problem or plan the design of something. A period of intense work, typically undertaken in order to meet a deadline.” A charrette is a short, intensive design… Read More »
Tags: Charette, Charrette, Decision Making, Design, Meeting, Planning, Problem Solving, Stakeholder, Workshop
Common Sense Keeps Dam Break Models in Line
By Ellen Faulkner, PE Dam safety studies often involve the use of numerical models to assess the flooding that could occur from a theoretical failure of the dam. These models provide useful information, but also abundant opportunity for frustration, excessive analysis costs, and misleading results. In my 30 years of working with the HEC-RAS model… Read More »
Tags: Computed Energy Grade Elevations, Critical Depth, Dam Break Model, Dambreak Flood Hydrograph, Flood Profile, Flood Wave Velocity, HEC-RAS, Normal Depth, Supercritcal Flow, Tailwater Elevation, Weir Equation