New McAlpine Lock Flling and Emptying System, Ohio River, Kentucky Hydraulic Model Investigation

摘要

Navigation improvements at McAlpine Locks and Dam on the Ohio River include construction of another 365.76-m-(1,200-fl-) long lock chamber adjacent to the existing lock chamber. A previous model investigation of an in-chamber longitudinal culvert filling and emptying system (ILCS) with through-the-sill intakes and outlets revealed the ILCS design was feasible. The intake and outlet designs were changed and another model study, reported herein, was conducted to evaluate the hydraulic performance of the new design. The ILCS design was modified slightly from the previous study. Port extensions were added to some of the ports in the lower half of the chamber and the width of the wall baffle was increased. The filling time for acceptable chamber performance with these changes and the design lift, 11.28 m (37 ft), was 11.3 min. This filling time was achieved with a variable speed valve operation. A roof extension placed over the right intake was found to be beneficial in helping to reduce the strength of vortices that formed in the upper approach during filling operations.