Irrotational Flow and Real Fluid Effects Under Planar Sluice Gates

A numerical method of solution of the inviscid flow under planar gates is developed and evaluated. The results of the calculations show good agreement with previous inviscid flow solutions and with experimental results for the water surface profile, velocity, and pressure distributions throughout the flow domain. The discrepancies between the experimental and numerical inviscid flow values of the coefficient of contraction are analyzed. After detailed examination of alternative explanations for the discrepancies, it is suggested that the most plausible explanation is the energy loss due to the vortex system attached to the upstream region of the gate.