OBERMEYER HYDRO, Inc. Ideas that Hold Water

OBERMEYER spillway gates provide excellent controllability over a full range of flow rates, water elevations and gate positions.

All gates operating on the same air supply line maintain a uniform crest height. This is because any differential lowering of a gate panel relative to others on the same air supply manifold causes said gate panel to develop more contact area with its respective air bladder than other gate panels. The extra contact area produces a restoring moment which returns said gate panel to the same position as the others.

Vibration due to von Karman vortex shedding does not occur with OBERMEYER spillway gates. The shape of the system when raised or partially raised causes flow separation to occur only at the downstream edge of the gate panels. This favorable condition also occurs when the system is operating in a submerged or high tail water condition, in contrast to rubber dams, which due to their rounded shape, can vibrate destructively as the line of flow separation moves cyclically back and forth across the rounded surface of the inflated structure.

OBERMEYER spillway gates provide very repeatable positioning relative to inflation pressure and headwater level and can be used to precisely measure the flow which they are used to control.

OBERMEYER Spillway gates can be operated continuously over a full range of gate positions, headwater elevations and tail water elevations and may be installed within siphon spillways subject to extreme water velocities.