Kun Cai
College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University

A new design method is presented for the construction of a lightweight submerged radial gate (SRG) with two vertical arms in hydraulic engineering. The structure to be designed is decomposed into several major components and each component is designed by using topology optimization. After all the shapes of the components are determined, the new structure can be constructed with these components. Finally, size optimization is fulfilled to give an optimal design in detail. In the current work, the SRG is decomposed into the three major parts of water-retaining face plate, support frame, and arms. Five steps are included in the whole design process. Firstly, the positions of the arms are determined. Secondly, the shape of an arm is obtained by using topology optimization method in consideration of the symmetry of structure. Thirdly, the frame made with level and vertical ribs is given to support face plate. Fourthly, the new radial gate is assembled with the components. Finally, some sizes of the components are verified by using size optimization after considering the stiffness, strength, and stability of the new structure under critical loading condition. To show the validity of the method, a traditional SRG in real project is taken as an example and is redesigned by using the present method. The new structure is over 20% lighter than that of the original one and the mechanical properties of the SRG are highly improved simultaneously.