A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work.
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability. Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect or store water which can be evenly distributed between locations. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions.
Thermal insulation is the reduction of heat transfer between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Thermal insulation can be achieved with specially engineered methods or processes, as well as with suitable object shapes and materials.
Flow measurement is the quantification of bulk fluid movement. Flow can be measured using devices called flowmeters in various ways. The common types of flowmeters with industrial applications are listed below:
A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. There are many weir designs, but commonly water flows freely over the top of the weir crest before cascading down to a lower level. There is no single definition as to what constitutes a weir.
A diversion dam is a dam that diverts all or a portion of the flow of a river from its natural course. Diversion dams do not generally impound water in a reservoir; instead, the water is diverted into an artificial water course or canal, which may be used for irrigation or return to the river after passing through hydroelectric generators, flow into a different river or be itself dammed forming an onground or groundwater reservoir or a storm drain.
A siphon is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in an inverted "U" shape, which causes a liquid to flow upward, above the surface of a reservoir, with no pump, but powered by the fall of the liquid as it flows down the tube under the pull of gravity, then discharging at a level lower than the surface of the reservoir from which it came.
A tap is a valve controlling the release of a fluid.
Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the movement of the fluids. This area of civil engineering is intimately related to the design of bridges, dams, channels, canals, and levees, and to both sanitary and environmental engineering.
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure that water does not damage parts of the structure not designed to convey water.
A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is of Scots origin, and was inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills, with penstocks diverting pond waters to drive the mills.
Hydraulic head or piezometric head is a specific measurement of liquid pressure above a vertical datum.
The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow. It is named for its inventor, Wisconsin structural engineer Jeremiah Burnham Tainter.
Streamflow, or channel runoff, is the flow of water in streams and other channels, and is a major element of the water cycle. It is one runoff component, the movement of water from the land to waterbodies, the other component being surface runoff. Water flowing in channels comes from surface runoff from adjacent hillslopes, from groundwater flow out of the ground, and from water discharged from pipes. The discharge of water flowing in a channel is measured using stream gauges or can be estimated by the Manning equation. The record of flow over time is called a hydrograph. Flooding occurs when the volume of water exceeds the capacity of the channel.
Stoplogs are hydraulic engineering control elements that are used in floodgates to adjust the water level or discharge in a river, canal, or reservoir. Stoplogs are sometimes confused with flashboards, as both elements are used in bulkhead or crest gates. Stoplogs are typically long rectangular timber beams or boards that are placed on top of each other and dropped into premade slots inside a weir, gate, or channel. Present day, the process of adding and removing stoplogs is not manual, but done with hydraulic stoplog lifters and hoists. Since the height of the barrier can only be adjusted through the addition and removal of stoplogs, finding a lighter and stronger material other than wood or concrete became a more desirable choice. Other materials, including steel and composites, can be used as stoplogs as well. Stoplogs are designed to cut off or stop flow through a conduit.
Akimoto Lake (秋元湖) is a lake in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Straddling the border of the village of Kitashiobara and the town of Inawashiro, it is used as a reservoir, providing drinking water to local residents. Along with Hibara Lake and Onogawa Lake, it forms what is known as the "Inner Bandai Plateau Tri-Lake Formation" of the Bandai Highland.
The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway West Closure Complex is a part of the New Orleans Drainage System; it consists of a navigable floodgate, a pumping station, flood walls, sluice gates, foreshore protection, and an earthen levee. The complex was designed to reduce risk for residences and businesses in the project area from a storm surge associated with a tropical event, with an intensity that has a one percent chance of occurring in any given year. This project was operated for the first time on August 29, 2012, in response to Hurricane Isaac.
Glenfield is a large industrial manufacturing company based in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. At its height it was reckoned to be the largest company of its type in the Commonwealth.
A waste weir on a navigable canal is a slatted gate on each canal level or pound, to remove excess water and to drain the canal for repairs or for the winter shutdown. This differs for a dam or reservoir, for which a waste weir is another name for a spillway, i.e. not having the boards to adjust the water height nor the paddles to drain all the water as on a canal, only to drain the excess.
The Foss Barrier consists of a retractable floodgate and pumping station owned and managed by the Environment Agency. It straddles the River Foss in York, just above the confluence with the River Ouse. The barrier’s purpose is to prevent water from the Ouse flowing upstream into the Foss, raising water levels and flooding properties along the River Foss. The pumps next to the flood gate move water around the barrier via a side culvert so that it can continue to drain into the Ouse. This prevents water levels on the Foss rising when the barrier is closed. The Ouse’s normal water level at York is approximately 5 metres AOD. When the river level reaches 7.5 metres AOD, the barrier is lowered into the Foss, shutting it off from the Ouse. The electrically driven barrier takes less than five minutes to lower into position. The barrier operates as a ‘turn and lift’ gate so it opens and closes in a similar way to a garage door. The pump-house attached to the barrier maintain the water level in the Foss at around 6.5 metres AOD. When the flood subsides and the level of the Ouse drops back to 6.5 metres, the levels in both rivers are equalised so the barrier opens, and the pumps shut down.
