HEAVY DUTY TITESEAL SLUICE GATE

The Plasti-Fab Heavy duty Titeseal Copolymer Sluice Gate is a non-metallic, corrosion resistant sluice gate that provides the engineer with a superior alternative to other plastic gates and competes well with stainless steel and cast iron gates. It is designed to handle high head applications of 25 feet or more in seating and unseating service. The guide includes a top closure bar that allows the gate to seal around all four sides. This gate is also often used for open channel weir applications. This gate is like the Wedging Titeseal® gate, a high performance, low leakage slide gate.

The gates are individually fabricated and can be designed to cover most opening. Sizing can range from about one foot square to over ten feet in width and height.

Copolymer gates can range in thickness from 2-l/2 inches to over 12 inches depending on the head and deflection requirement.

The gate is fabricated using a reinforced copolymer composite material (FRP), which totally encapsulates an internal structural steel matrix, and has no seams, joints or cut edges. The core of the gate is completely sealed against any corrosive attack by water or chemicals that might be present in the stream.

Heavy Duty Titeseal sluice gates do not use wall thimbles. Instead, the guide is anchored to a flat surface and approximately one inch of grout is used to permanently seal between the guide and the wall. The guide is normally fabricated using T-304 or T-316 stainless steel, but FRP guides and other more exotic metals are available. Plasti-Fab has fabrication experience with Monel, Hasalloy and Aquamet to name a few.

GUIDES The gates require specially formed guides, but these will still be classified as embedded, surface mounted, or in-channel according to how they are mounted. Surface mounted guides bolt to the face of the wall around an opening using special slotted clips that slide onto the anchor bolts. In-channel guides bolt to the inside face of an existing channel.                                             

SEALS Heavy Duty Titeseal Sluice Gates have a virgin neoprene J-seal and wedged bottom seal mechanically fastened to the gate. Neoprene forms a true seal that has high resilience and durability, and will not bridge or gap over small debris. It has been used successfully by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers in hydro-electric dams for the past seventy years as the proven seal of choice. Plasti-Fab will not use sponge rubber, which has low compression set characteristics and low tear strength.

 Mounted on the opposite side of the gate is a UHMW low-friction sliding surface which helps to reduce the lifting force required to move the gate. As the gate starts to open, the seal is released from contact with the wedge. This allows the gate to move freely in the guide with lower operating forces. The adjustable wedging bar in the guide allows the gate to be fine-tuned to achieve the lowest possible leakage rates. The end result is leakage rates that are much less than the AWWA standard for sluice gates (AWWA C-501 establishes leakage of no more than 0.1 GPM/foot of wetted perimeter for a seating head, and 0.2 GPM/foot of wetted perimeter for unseating heads of 20 feet or less.)

Example A four-foot by four-foot gate with 20 feet of seating head will require nearly 18,000 pounds of thrust to begin upward movement. (16 ft.² gate surfaced X 18 ft. Head to the gate center line X 62.4 lbs/ft.³ H₂O = 17,971 lbs. breakaway force.)

The entire load plus the weight of the gate and stem must be moved by the stem and lift nut, and supported by the head frame and lift. For periods of up to 20 years (sic). In addition, AWWA C-501 sluice gate standards require that this initial gate movement should take place with no more than 25 to 40 pound pull on the handwheel or crank. All this means that proper sizing of the lift, stem, and other gate components is critical. 

All lifts used by Plasti-Fab will have ball bearings, and many will be geared. Geared lifts can also be operated by an electric or gas powered portable operator to reduce cycling time. Plasti-Fab also uses electric, pneumatic, and hydraulic actuators. We have worked with most of the major gate and operator manufacturers in the U. S. for over twenty years.

LOCATION May include any size open channels and any wall opening that will have a seating or un-seating head greater than the opening itself.

STOP GATE

Stop Gate and Stop Plate are terms used interchangeably to identify manually lifted gates that are installed in open channels. These gates do not have a threaded stem or lifting mechanism. Typically, Stop Gates under 3’ wide will have one hand grip or handle for lifting. When gates are 3’-O” or wider it is common to see two lifting points.

Smaller gates or gates with a balanced (equalized) head can usually be raised by hand. Larger gates, and gates with unbalanced head often require a mechanical lifting device such as a davit crane or winch.

Stop gates are identified by the size of the clear opening to be covered. It is an industry practice to list the gate width first, followed by its height, i.e. 2-6” wide X 3’-0” high. At times gates are requested that have a round or trapezoidal bottom design. These are also available from Plasti-Fab.

LOCATION Common locations for Stop Gates include: treatment plant headworks, bypass channels, aeration basins, diversion boxes and manholes, lagoons, aeration ponds, prechlorination, siphon structure and drainage or flow control structures.

STOP GATES Plasti-Fab builds fiberglass Stop Gates. Stainless steel or aluminum gates may be quoted in certain competitive situation.

Fiberglass Stop Gates will take one of three forms:

a.       Solid 1” thick FRP: - only available from Plasti-Fab. Usually designed to meet deflection of  l/180, rugged looking and virtually indestructible.

b.      Sandwich Construction: This is the FRP gate most people think of first. It is typically 1/4” or 3/8” thick at the edge and has a built-up urethane foam core to give it strength. The normal deflection standard seen in specification is L/360. Internal steel reinforcing may be used to meet deflection requirements.

c.       Copolymer or Heavy Duty Stop Gate -- These gates will range in thickness from 2-1/2” to 6-1/2” and are usually reinforced with an internal structural steel matrix. Deflection requirements may range from L/360 up to L/1000 depending on the application and engineer’s preference. Plasti-Fab has built Heavy Duty Gates as large as 8 ft. X 10 ft. Guides are usually formed stainless steel channel, but FRP is also used.

d.      Aluminum is subject to electrolysis and other chemical corrosion. If aluminum gates are quoted, the guide will be fiberglass. The fiberglass guide protects against bi-metallic corrosion problems and is not affected by electrolysis or corrosion by the concrete.

GUIDES Embedded, Surface Mounted or In-channel Mounted: Surface mounted guides bolt to the face of a wall around an opening. In-channel mounted guides bolt to the inside surface of an existing channel, and reduce the internal width and depth of the channel. Embedded guides can either be attached to the concrete form and encased with the wall pour, or they may be grouted into a pre-formed blockout after a wall has been poured. The Plasti-Fab guides are manufactured by the pultrusion process using polyester or vinyl ester resin and a synthetic surface veil for good corrosion resistance.

SEALS Sealing capability is greatly dependent on the amount of water pressure or head, pushing the gate against the seating surfaces. In wastewater plants the amount of debris and fiber in the water also helps to clog leaks. There are no published leakage standards for Stop Gates. However, you will sometimes see the AWWA sluice gate standard incorrectly quoted. Most locations needing stop gates do not have strict leakage requirements. When leakage is a concern a number of seal designs are available. The most common is the side mounted neoprene J-seal and a neoprene flush bottom seal. The flush bottom seal keeps debris out of the bottom guide groove and is common in plant headworks where there is a lot of grit and debris.

 WHY BUY PLASTI-FAB?

1.    Plasti-Fab offers a broad selection of gate styles, and will custom design to meet special requirements.

2.    Plasti-Fab has more than 25 years of experience with design and installation of fiberglass gates.

3.    Fiberglass provides superior corrosion resistance to the widest range of acids, caustics, and most other aggressive environments.

4.    The fiberglass gate will not bend or warp and the surface will not pock or bloom as often seen with aluminum.

5.    Other Special Applications and Designs to Consider:

a.       Round bottomed gates.

b.      Weir Gates or Proportioning Gates

c.       Screening Gates.

d.      Special Wedging and Top Closure Gates.

e.       Large volume damper gates in FRP ducting and pipe.

f.       Control gates for flowable bulk solids.