ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21

August 2009

Calculating Forces on Components

of Hydraulic Structures
by E. Allen Hammack, Moira T. Fong, and Richard L. Stockstill

PURPOSE: This Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) demonstrates a
means of calculating hydraulic forces acting on submerged surfaces of hydraulic structures. The
primary concern in evaluating the hydraulic performance of a structure is whether it can with-
stand the imposed hydraulic forces. Forces acting on components such as stilling basins, spillway
faces, bridge piers, culvert valves, spillway gates, lock guard walls, floodwalls, etc., must be
accurately estimated to ensure appropriate structural, mechanical, and geotechnical design.

A method of calculating the forces acting on surfaces within the domain of a computational flow
model has been developed. This process of integrating the primary flow variables over surfaces
of interest is described. A numerical example of an application to determine the magnitude and
distribution of the hydrodynamic loads acting on a lock culvert valve is presented.

BACKGROUND: Design and evaluation of hydraulic structures requires an understanding of

the interaction between the flow and the components of the structure. The non-hydrostatic forces
generated by the flowing water are of particular interest. Historically, physical models have been
the primary means for predicting hydrodynamic forces on hydraulic structures. Laboratory stud-
ies of hydraulic loadings require relatively large-scale physical models which are expensive to
construct, instrument, and operate. The hydraulic evaluation costs can be decreased if computa-
tional methods are used in lieu of such physical model studies. Numerical models capable of
calculating hydraulic loads on bridge piers, lock guard walls, culvert valves, tainter valves,
floodwalls, and moored ships will result in more cost-effective structural, mechanical, and geo-
technical designs.

Methods whereby numerical flow models are used to determine the hydraulic performance of
components on lock gates (shown in Figure 1), dams, bulkheads, and valves are being developed
by the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development
Center. These advances will enable engineers to calculate hydraulic loads on structural and
mechanical components of locks and dams. The result will be a modeling system that can esti-
mate hydraulic forces on the structures and the hydraulic influence of various components of
hydraulic structures.

HYDRAULICS: The three-dimensional (3-D) Navier-Stokes module of the flow solver, Adap-
tive Hydraulics (ADH) (http://adh.usace.army.mil/), has been applied to hydraulic structures
such as locks, intakes, outlets, and weirs (Stockstill 2009; Stockstill et al. 2006; Stockstill and
Berger 2000). Finite-element models of these structures employ tetrahedral elements with sizes
often varying over several orders of magnitude. The flow field is modeled using the Reynolds-
Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The 3-D RANS equations have four degrees of
freedom: the pressure and the three components of fluid velocity. Solution of these primary flow
 Form Approved
Report Documentation Page OMB No. 0704-0188

Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information,
including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington
VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it
does not display a currently valid OMB control number.

1. REPORT DATE 3. DATES COVERED

2. REPORT TYPE
AUG 2009 00-00-2009 to 00-00-2009
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER
Calculating Forces on Components of Hydraulic Structures 5b. GRANT NUMBER

5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER

6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER

5e. TASK NUMBER

5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION

REPORT NUMBER
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center,Environmental
Laboratory,3909 Halls Ferry Road,Vicksburg,MS,39180-6199
9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITORS ACRONYM(S)

11. SPONSOR/MONITORS REPORT

NUMBER(S)

12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited
13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

14. ABSTRACT

15. SUBJECT TERMS

16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF
ABSTRACT OF PAGES RESPONSIBLE PERSON
a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE Same as 11
unclassified unclassified unclassified Report (SAR)

Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98)

Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18
ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21
August 2009

variables allows for the calculation of forces acting on particular surfaces within the flow
domain.

Figure 1. Lock chamber during filling operation.

FORCE CALCULATION: The hydrodynamic forces are composed of two components, the
fluid pressure and the shear stress acting on the bodys surface. The pressure force is the inte-
grated pressure over the surface area of a body:

Fp p n dA (1)
A

where

Fp = pressure force
p = pressure
n = unit vector pointing outward normal to the area
A = wetted surface area of the body

Similarly, the shear force is the integrated shear stress over the surface area of a body.

2
 ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21
August 2009

Fs dA (2)
A

where

Fs = shear force
= shear stress

The shear stress acting on a surface is calculated as:

1
Cf V 2 (3)
2

where

Cf = friction coefficient
= fluid density
V = velocity vector of the fluid

DISCHARGE CALCULATION: The total discharge, Q, through an area is the integral of the
velocity through an area.

Q V n dA (4)
A

ADH IMPLEMENTATION: The FRC (force) card has been created for the ADH boundary
condition file (project_name.bc) for the user to specify on which surfaces in the flow domain the
hydraulic forces are to be calculated. Table 1 summarizes the format of the FRC card.

Table 1. FRC card description.

Field Type Value Description
1 Character FRC Card Type
2 Integer >0 Boundary Face String

Each surface of the flow domain is defined by one or more face strings in the boundary condition
file. An FRC card must be included for each face string on which the user wants hydraulic forces
to be calculated. The forces routine performs two major calculations on a surface element: inte-
gration of the pressures over the element area to determine the pressure force and integration of
the velocities to determine the shear force. The units of the calculated forces are determined by
the fluid density and gravity defined in the boundary condition file and the length units of the
mesh.

When the FRC card is included in the boundary condition file, two additional ADH data files are
created: project_name_frc.dat and project_name_frc_coord.dat. The file project_name_frc.dat

3
ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21
August 2009

contains information for each element in each boundary face string used in conjunction with the
FRC card. Specifically, this file contains the following quantities for each element of the face
string: the x-, y-, and z-coordinates of the centroid, the components of pressure, the element area,
the pressure force components, the shear stress components, and the total force components.
These quantities are grouped by the face string number. In addition, the sum of all the x-, y-, and
z-components of the forces acting on the elements in a face string are listed. The force data are
listed for each face string and for each time-step specified by the output control section of the
boundary condition file. Since the output provides the location and direction of the force acting
on each element face in the face string, the magnitude and direction of resultant forces and
moments can be calculated from the ADH output.

VALIDATION: The hydraulic force calculation capabilities were tested on a 250-m3/sec flow of
water though a duct with an abrupt contraction. The duct is 100 m long and has an abrupt vertical
contraction 50 m downstream of the inlet. The 100-m-long duct is 5 m wide by 10 m tall and has
an abrupt vertical contraction 50 m downstream of the inflow boundary to a width of 5 m and a
height of 5 m. No friction or gravitational force acted on the flow. The pressure at the upstream
end is 53,565 N/m2 (gage), and the flow issues into the atmosphere where the (gage) pressure is
zero. The upstream area, A1, is 50 m2, and the downstream area, A2, is 25 m2. Figure 2 is a sche-
matic of the abrupt contraction geometry.

Figure 2. Abrupt contraction geometry.

By continuity, the upstream velocity, V1, is 5 m/sec and the outflow velocity, V2, is 10 m/sec.
The sum of the forces in the longitudinal direction is equal to the change in momentum.

p1 A1 p2 A2 F Q V2 V1 (5)

where

4
 ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21
August 2009

= fluid density (1,000 kg/m3)

Q = flow rate
p = boundary pressure
F = hydraulic force on the offset

The subscripts, 1 and 2, refer to upstream and downstream ends of the duct, respectively. Since
the outflow pressure, p2, is zero, the force on the offset is

F p1 A1 Q V2 V1 (6)

or

F 53,565 N/m 2 50 m 2 1, 000 kg/m3 250 m3 /sec 10 m/sec 5 m/sec

This simplified example finds that the longitudinal force developed on the offset is 1,428 kN.

The three total force components calculated by ADH are 1,381 kN (longitudinal, Fx), 0 kN
(lateral, Fy), and 0 kN (vertical, Fz). For the longitudinal force, the ADH calculation differs from
the analytical solution by 47 kN or 3.3 percent. Finer resolution near the edge of the expansion
corner would decrease the size of the elements where the pressure is rapidly changing, which
would reduce the difference in the analytical and ADH-calculated forces.

Validation of the discharge calculation capabilities in ADH was performed by comparing the
discharge at the outflow boundary (calculated) to the discharge at the inflow (specified). By con-
tinuity, these values should be equal. For the abrupt contraction, ADH calculates the flux through
the outflow boundary as 249.95 m3/sec, which differs from the inflow discharge by 0.05 m3/sec
or 0.02 percent.

APPLICATION: The hydraulic forces acting on a lock culvert valve were calculated for three
different valve positions. The pressure head was 34.4 m for all three valve positions, so, the dif-
ferences in the forces acting on the valve are caused by the orientation of the valve. The three
different valve positions are shown in Figure 3. The valve positions are labeled based on the
normalized valve opening, the distance, b, from the bottom tip of the valve to the culvert invert
divided by the culvert height, B.

The surface geometry comprises more than 75,000 elements. Such high resolution is required to
capture valve details as small as 13 mm found on the valve. Figures 4 and 5 show the valve
geometry and surface meshes, respectively.

Because of its complexity, the valve surface geometry was divided into five pieces during
meshing. Each piece was a face string so in order to determine the total force on the valve, the
forces for each face string were calculated. The total force on the structure (in each direction) is
the sum of forces of each face string. Table 2 summarizes the force results of the three valves.

5
ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21
August 2009

Figure 3. Tainter valve positions.

6
 ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21
August 2009

Figure 4. Valve surface geometry.

7
ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21
August 2009

Figure 5. Valve surface mesh.

8
 ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21
August 2009

Table 2. Valve hydraulic force results.

b/B = 0.10 b/B = 0.35 b/B = 0.65
Face String Fx (kN) Fy (kN) Fz (kN) Fx (kN) Fy (kN) Fz (kN) Fx (kN) Fy (kN) Fz (kN)
1 3,506.20 0.01 1,538.37 3,315.42 0.10 1,005.29 1,739.46 -1.60 479.40
2 0.04 1.20 0.02 0.42 2.23 0.08 0.96 -5.00 -0.07
3 1,059.53 -0.14 314.92 1,027.24 -1.03 70.92 705.79 0.18 -149.36
4 60.21 0.01 49.78 49.73 -0.02 58.56 45.56 -0.08 59.53
5 929.00 0.01 339.37 777.57 -0.03 151.32 527.98 -0.47 21.04
Total 5,554.98 1.08 2,242.46 5,170.38 1.25 1,286.17 3019.74 -6.98 410.53

For all three valve positions, the longitudinal force, Fx, is at least one order of magnitude larger
than the vertical force, Fz, and two orders of magnitude larger than the lateral force, Fy. To
determine if these trends are reasonable, consider the surfaces on the valve face plate. The
inward normal vector, which is the direction the pressure force acts, for most faces on the valve
surface has its largest component in the x-direction. Also, consider the pressure contours shown
in Figure 6. The pressures on the upstream side of the valve have larger magnitudes than those
on the downstream side of the valve, so the net force should be higher on the upstream side of
the valve than the downstream side. These two facts indicate that the total longitudinal force on
the valve should be larger than both the lateral and vertical forces. In the lateral direction, the
valve surface is symmetric, so the pressure forces acting on each side of the valve should cancel
with one another. These forces are not exactly zero according to the ADH calculation because of
the discretization of the valve surface around the curves. While the valve surface is symmetrical
in the lateral direction, the discretization of the surface is not.

The vertical forces correspond to uplift forces which are significant in the design of machinery
that will move the valve during operation. The machinery must overcome any uplift forces that
the valve is subjected to during the service life of the valve.

SUMMARY: The hydraulic forces acting on a submerged body can be calculated from the 3-D
solution provided by the Navier-Stokes module of the ADH flow solver. The forces are calcu-
lated as the integrated pressures and shear stresses over a bodys surface area. The force calcula-
tion implementation has been validated with the analytical solution of flow with an abrupt
contraction. The benefit of this modeling capability is shown via an example of calculating the
forces on a lock culvert valve.

POINT OF CONTACT: This CHETN is a product of the Hydrodynamic Design of Inland

Structures work unit of the Navigation Systems Research Program (Nav Sys) being conducted at
the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
Questions about this CHETN can be addressed to Dr. Richard L. Stockstill (Voice: 601-634-
4251, Fax: 601-634-3218, e-mail: [email protected]). For information about
the Navigation Systems Research Program, contact the Program Manager, Charles E. Wiggins at
[email protected]. This CHETN should be cited as follows:

9
ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21
August 2009

Figure 6. Pressures near valve.

10
 ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21
August 2009

Hammack, E. A., M. T. Fong, and R. L. Stockstill. 2009. Calculating forces on

components of hydraulic structures. Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Techni-
cal Note ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-21. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer
Research and Development Center, http://chl.erdc.usace.army.mil/chetn.

REFERENCES
Stockstill, R. L. 2009. Computational model of a lock filling system. Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical
Note ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-18. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
Stockstill, R. L., and R. C. Berger. 2000. Simulation of flow in hydraulic structures using ADH. Coastal and
Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note ERDC/CHL CHETN-IX-4. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer
Research and Development Center.
Stockstill, R. L., C. E. Kees, and R. C. Berger. 2006. Modeling free-surface flow over a weir. Coastal and Hydrau-
lics Engineering Technical Note ERDC/CHL CHETN-XIII-1, Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research
and Development Center.

NOTE: The contents of this technical note are not to be used for advertising, publication, or promotional purposes.
Citation of trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the use of such products.

11