TAINTER GATE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

B.T.A Sagar1 and Charles C. Hutton2

ABSTRACT

Failure of the tainter gate at Folsom Dam in California in 1995 resulted in an

uncontrolled release of water from the reservoir and prompted the dam safety community
to rethink the safety of tainter gates. The gate failure apparently occurred from changes
in lubrication practices, which resulted in corrosion, and an increase in pin friction, which
had not been considered in the original design calculations.

A lot of attention has been directed towards inspections and structural analysis of tainter
gates at existing dams since the Folsom gate failure. Immediately following the failure,
the state of California required the inspection and evaluation of all spillway tainter gates
and all jurisdictional dams. The FERC also initiated a program to inspect and evaluate
the design criteria of all spillway tainter gates at all regulated dams. A few tainter gates
have been tested in an attempt to determine the actual trunnion friction for use in the
structural analyses and evaluation of the structural integrity of the gates. Trunnion pins
were removed at one dam for inspection for wear and corrosion.

Very little attention has been directed to proper operation and maintenance procedures
and practices to prevent future problems such as occurred at Folsom Dam. In addition, a
limited amount of material has been published on tainter gate operation and maintenance
as it relates to dam safety. Most of the attention seems to focus on design and
fabrication. But, the life of a tainter gate can be shortened unless proper operation and
maintenance procedures are followed. Only one of the tainter gate design manuals
reviewed addressed design issues relative to tainter gate operation and maintenance. This
paper addresses several of the more important aspects of tainter gate operation and
maintenance that should be considered during design and for operation of the gate
facility, including the following:

• Wire Rope Failures

• Wire Rope and Chain Maintenance
• Trunnion Lubrication and Friction
• Drainage of Gate Members
• Overtopping Design
• Painting / Lead Paint Removal
• Standby Power

1
Chief Hydro-Mechanical Engineer, ECI, 5660 Greenwood Plaza Blvd, Suite 500,
Englewood, Colorado 80111
2
Vice President and Chief Engineer, ECI, 5660 Greenwood Plaza Blvd, Suite 500,
Englewood, Colorado 80111
• Gate Vibrations
• Gate Jamming
• Motor Stall Torque

INTRODUCTION

Spillway tainter gates have been the focus of attention of the dam safety community
during the past 4 years since the well publicized Folsom Dam gate failure. The Folsom
gate failure has opened the eyes of the engineering profession dealing with aging dams
and spillway gates to the urgent need to inspect old gates at existing spillways and take
appropriate measures to ensure their safety and operational reliability for the next 25 to
50 years. It particular, there is an emphasized need for:

• Accounting for trunnion pin friction in gate design

• Proper and frequent lubrication of the trunnion pins with dependable greases
• Checking the structural integrity of existing gates with appropriate trunnion friction
• Strengthening the gates if they do not meet structural code requirements
• Periodic detailed close-up climbing inspection of all gate components to check for
corrosion and other deficiencies
• Strengthening or replacement of corroded gate components including rivets or bolts

In addition, the Folsom incident has created awareness among dam safety engineers to
examine other spillway gate issues. These include wire rope failure, potential
overtopping of spillway gates and consequences, power supply failures, jamming during
operation, vibration and motor stall torque. These issues are each briefly discussed in the
following paragraphs.

WIRE ROPE FAILURES

Failure of wire ropes supporting the gate is not entirely an uncommon incident. This type
of failure is typically due to corrosion of ropes at the water line or at connections.
Galvanic action, due to zinc in the wire rope sockets, may be a source of such corrosion.
Use of stainless steel ropes is cost effective to minimize corrosion problems, although
further research is still needed to understand galvanic corrosion issues between zinc and
stainless steel materials. Replacement of wire rope approximately every five years is a
prudent practice. In view of the disadvantages with wire ropes, hydraulic hoists are
gaining popularity for operating spillway tainter gates, especially with the recent
development of environmentally friendly fluids for use in the hydraulic operating
systems. A typical example of an improperly design connection and resulting corrosion
is shown in Figure No. 1.

WIRE ROPE AND CHAIN MAINTENANCE

Chains are a constant maintenance headache, especially if they are of the tension linkage
chain (roller chain) type shown in Figure No. 2. This type of chain is made up of pins,
rollers and sidebars. Even with frequent maintenance, this type of chain will tend to bind
and can cause damage to the hoist frame as shown in Figure No. 2. This design requires
periodic lubrication of the pins to keep the chain flexible, which has the disadvantage of
grease entering the reservoir. Environmentally this is unacceptable today and different
types of lubricants must be used. A typical roller chain design includes grease fittings on
the pins, which allowed grease to flow into the joint between the pin and roller and
excess grease to exit into the reservoir. Over time many of the grease ports will not take
grease and the pins will freeze. There is no good solution to maintaining this type of
lifting chain except to replace them with stainless steel wire ropes or with new chains
with self-lubricating bushings and stainless steel pins. Replacement with wire rope will
require modification of the hoist to add a drum, which may not be possible depending on
the capacity of the hoist. The cost of replacement with roller chain and self-lubricating
bushings versus replacement with wire rope and drums must be studied to determine the
most cost-effective approach for the particular situation. Disadvantages of wire rope are
that is should be lubricated regularly and if damaged, must be completely replaced. Also,
corrosion of internal wires of wire rope is not always detectable by visual examination,
and can sometimes lead to rope failure.

An even older type of tainter gate lifting chain is shown in Figure No. 3. This is
essentially a link chain, which has no provisions for lubrication except to apply grease to
the surface of the metal between the links. This type of chain has been found on tainter
gates that were designed only 25 years ago. Since the lubricant is exposed to the water it
tends to wash off in a short time. This type of chain has a tendency to corrode severely
and if not exercised frequently will freeze in place and cause problems at the hoist drum.
The solution to the problems with this type of chain is to exercise the chains regularly,
which requires releasing water from the reservoir unless a bulkhead is installed Another
option is to replace the chains with wire rope.

TRUNNION LUBRICATION AND FRICTION

Historically, in many older gate designs, trunnion friction was often not considered by
gate designers. It was assumed that trunnion friction would cause secondary stresses,
which could be accommodated by the safety factors built into the allowable stresses for
gate members. The bracing between the gate arms was intended primarily to limit the l/r
ratio of the arms about the weak axis to prevent buckling. The bracing was sized to
withstand 2 to 3 percent of the arm axial loads. If the pin diameter is relatively small and
the moment caused by trunnion friction is consequently of small magnitude, no serious
consequences were reported in such gates. However, the Folsom spillway gate incident
demonstrated that with larger pin diameter and increased friction due to corrosion of the
pins, a significant increase in trunnion friction and consequent overstressing of arm
bracing and connections could occur and may lead to gate failure. The Folsom tainter
gates have relatively large pins compared to other tainter gates of similar size, which
magnified the problem. But cases have been reported where the carbon steel pins are
completely frozen in place due to corrosion causing the bushing to rotate inside the
housing and keeper plate bolt failure. Usually trunnions were provided with grease
nipples and the pins were grooved for lubrication. But, lubrication was often forgotten,
sporadic or infrequent to prevent corrosion build up on carbon steel pins. Corrosion on
pins is somewhat unpredictable. Experience has shown that corrosion depends not only
on the frequency of lubrication and the type and distribution of the lubricant, but also
other factors such as the direction of the sun, wind, humidity, water spray, chemicals in
the wind and water and salt in the air and water.

The results of the Folsom gate fixture tests showed that all lubricants are not created
equal. Recommendations for trunnion lubricants were first published in the Folsom
reports. Subsequently an article was published in the USCOLD newsletter [Rodrigues,
1999]. Most recently the Corps of Engineers released a new lubrication manual
[USACOE, 2000], which was prepared jointly by the Reclamation’s Denver Office and
the Corps of Engineers. Based on the information presented in these documents and our
experience, lubricants used for tainter gate trunnions should meet or exceed the following
requirements:

• Prevention of rust: ASTM D1743-94.

• Resist water washout: ASTM D1264-93.
• Soft for easy pumping with small clearance of a load zone: ASTM D-1403.
• Contain environmentally acceptable oil.
• Contain anti-wear and anti-scuff properties: ASTM D99-95.
• Contain good adherence properties with chemical additive iso-butylene or
polyethylene.
• Non-corrodible to bronze bushing with low copper corrosion properties. ASTM
D4048.
• Long and stable life: ASTM D942-90.
• Resist separation in storage: ASTM D1742-94.

Frequency of lubrication is an issue that is still being discussed amongst the dam safety
engineering community. According to the reports, the tainter gates at Folsom Dam were
lubricated once a month when the reservoir encroached on the gates and less frequently
when the reservoir is below the gates. The designers originally called for lubrication on a
daily basis with water on the gates.

Based on recommendations from designers or inspecting engineers, most dam owners

lubricate the trunnion bearings annually or in some cases quarterly. Some dam owners
have discontinued lubricating the trunnion bearings because of safety issues to access the
trunnions. Where access safety is a concern, installation of piping for remote lubrication
should be considered. There is concern from some engineers that the lubricant in the
piping can separate or become hard over time depending on the quality of grease and
climate. For this reason remote piping has been removed at some dams where there is
good access to the trunnion grease ports. Designing safe access to the trunnion area
should no be forgotten for new designs, as well as during rehabilitation.
Probably more important than frequency of lubrication is exercising the gates during or
after lubrication to spread the grease around the bearing. The tests conducted for the
Folsom Dam spillway gate studies showed that trunnion friction reduced as much as 50%
when the gate was exercised after lubrication. At many dams in the United States the
spillway gates are opened in the spring to pass flood flows. A prudent approach by dam
owners would be to lubricate the trunnion bearings prior to opening the gates to pass the
flood flows to spread the grease around the pin and bushing. At installations where the
gates are not opened annually to pass flood flows or are opened only a small amount, a
bulkhead should be used to block off the spillway bay and allow complete opening of
each gate without wasting water.

The required frequency of exercising or extent of opening for spillway tainter gates to
ensure reliable operation is another one of those topics that is currently being discussed
by the dam safety community. The FERC requires that all spillway gates be fully opened
every five years. A new hinged floating bulkhead design is being used a several dams
around the country for this purpose and for maintenance. This type of bulkhead is
economical and can be used a several different facilities with similar size spillways.

There currently are no published guidelines for frequency of exercising spillway tainter
gates at nonfederal dams. Use of reliable self-lubricating bronze bushings, such as
Lubrite or Lubron, with stainless steel pins will mitigate trunnion friction problems with
minimal maintenance. Self-lubricating bushing with graphite inserts should be avoided
because the graphite has been found to bulge and deteriorate.

In existing facilities with carbon steel pins and ordinary bronze bushings installation of
an automatic lubrication system which automatically pumps grease into trunnion pins and
bushing contact surfaces whenever the gate is operated is worth of consideration.
However, in all remote greasing systems, manual or automatic, the grease should be
flushed and renewed periodically to prevent possible deterioration due to stagnation or
separation.

DRAINAGE OF GATE MEMBERS

Drainage of gate members is one detail that is often overlooked. Many older gates do not
have provisions for drainage or existing drain holes that are too small. Only one of the
gate design manuals reviewed mentioned the need for drain holes in gate members to
prevent standing water and subsequent corrosion. This seems like a common sense
detail, but it seems to have been overlooked since a large number of existing gates do not
have drain holes or the holes are too small. Typically in the past drain holes have been
specified to be about ¾-inch in diameter, which is too small to prevent clogging. Drain
holes are required in the horizontal members on the face of the skinplate and on the gate
arms to prevent standing water and accumulation of sediment and debris, which will
eventually leads to severe corrosion. Tainter gates only 25 years old have experienced
severe corrosion due to inadequate drainage that has required extensive repair or
replacement of portions of the gate.
Drain holes should be of adequate size and properly located to prevent standing water.
Drains holes should be oblong and a minimum of 1 inch wide and 2 inches long or 2
inches in diameter or larger. Larger drain holes are desirable, but should be considered in
the design of the load carrying members due to the reduction in section properties. Drain
holes are usually placed in the web, not the flange of primary members. Drain holes
should be cleaned at least annually to remove debris and other material, which can cause
the holes to become clogged and promote corrosion. Cleaning with a power washer is
one approach to remove debris and sediment. Failure to clean gate members on a regular
basis can result in severe corrosion as shown in Figure No. 4.

OVERTOPPING DESIGN

Another important issue is overtopping of the gates by floodwaters. This can happen at
existing spillways due to inadequate spillway capacity and increased runoff due to
deforestation. Silting of reservoirs and loss of storage is another contributing factor.
Usually the full reservoir or storage level is at the top of the spillway gates and the design
flood level is above the top of gates if the gates are not open when the flood arrives.
Overtopping can occur due to slow operator response and human error, or non-response
of one or more gates due to electrical or mechanical problems, obstructions to gate
movement or power supply failure. In locations where hurricanes and sudden storms are
possible, gate overtopping is a definite possibility that should not be ignored.

One example is a project in India, where the tainter gates were overtopped during
operation and subjected to severe vibrations, as the gates were not designed for
simultaneous overflow and underflow. The gate failed and was washed away. Another
example occurred at a dam in the Caribbean, where the gates could not be opened due to
failure of the primary and backup power supplies during a hurricane and were
overtopped. Some of the gate members were damaged and the hoists were destroyed.

Gate designers tend to blame the operators or acts of God for such incidents, which may
be true to some extent. But these incidents emphasize the need to design gates in these
locations to withstand some amount of overtopping without damage or failure of the gate
members. Overtopping provisions include an ogee shape on the top of the gate to protect
gate members and side shields to protect the end arms from overflowing waters. Flow
splitters should be included on the ogee crest gate to minimize potential flow-induced
vibrations. A typical illustration of a tainter gate with an ogee and side shields is shown
in Figure No. 5.

With modern technology, reliable automation of gate operations to respond to floods will
minimize human error and the inherent delayed response by operating personnel. Our
experience includes designing spillway tainter gates for overtopping and automatic
control for spillway gate operation. ECI is currently developing designs for an automated
gate control system for the largest canal in the world involving 400 tainter gates.
The above examples bring to light a basic policy issue that needs to be resolved. Many
years ago there used to be a rule of thumb that spillway capacity should be established
assuming at least one gate or ten percent of the gates inoperative. In such a situation, the
inoperative gate(s) will be subject to overflow as the reservoir rises above normal storage
levels due to floodflows. This rule of thumb has seemed to have gone by the wayside and
forgotten by the current dam and spillway designers. Consideration should be given to
reinstating this rule of thumb and including in the design of spillway tainter gates
provisions for overtopping such as an ogee and side shields.

These provisions are needed not only for accidental overtopping, but also to skim trash
from the reservoir during flood season when surplus water is available. Provision of
bascule gates on tainter gates has proven to be not only expensive, but wastes precious
water to remove trash from the reservoir and often becomes a maintenance headache.
Many bascule gates on top of tainter gates have been abandoned or locked in a closed
position in sheer disgust for these reasons. In such cases, a fixed ogee lip on the tainter
gate makes a lot of sense and is less expensive. Of course, the dam must have proper
maintenance, as well as gate exercise programs, to ensure that all spillway gates are in
good operating condition to safely pass flood flows.

PAINTING / LEAD PAINT REMOVAL

One of the problems faced by the dam owner when preparing to rehabilitate old spillway
tainter gates is the possibly that the original coatings contain lead. There is a saying “If
the primer is orange, it is probably red lead!” [Beitelman, 1992]. For over 100 years,
lead has been used as an inhibitive pigment in paints. Lead based paints have in the past
provided excellent corrosion protection for both atmospheric and immersed steel,
especially spillway tainter gates. The one regulation that has had a major effect on the
maintenance painting industry over the past several years is the Resources Conservation
and Recovery ACT (RCRA). This act requires that waste materials, such as abrasives
used in blasting existing coatings from gates and the removed coating materials, be
subjected to a test to determine the level of lead. In the case of old tainter gates, this
usually means that the blasting operation must be designed to properly contain, store,
transport and treat the waste material to make it nonhazardous. The other major problem
is meeting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirement for
protecting workers from toxic dust.

The following methods can be used to identify lead in the existing paint.

Field

 Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)

 Chemical Spot Tests
Laboratory Analysis of Samples

 Atomic Absorption Spectroscope (AAS)

 Inductive Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES)

Since the early 1990's, the paint maintenance industry has seen a significant increase in
costs associated with concerns about lead materials. No regulations, however, require
immediate removal of all existing lead paint. One viable option to the dam owner,
therefore, is to paint over the existing coating, thus extending the life of the painting
system for several years. The cost of lead paint removal will likely increase in the future
and regulations may become more restrictive. However, prices may decrease because of
the emergence of new and cheaper technologies for lead paint removal and containment,
and as Contractors gain more experience in removal operations. This procedure thus
presents a cost effective immediate solution. Upgrading refers to the application of an
additional barrier coat to increase the protective life of the existing system.

The overcoat must be selected after careful assessment of the following factors:

 The concern of possible contamination by existing or remaining lead based paint.

 The overcoat must be compatible with the existing coating. Adhesion tests should be
performed in accordance with ASTM D5064.

 All maintenance alterations for lead based coatings must comply with the worker
protection requirements of the construction lead standard OSHA6-9.

Special considerations in painting spillway tainter gates include the following:

 The upstream faces of the gates will receive the most severe exposure due to
immersion in water and abrasion due to silt, trash and floating debris.

 Depending upon the conditions, the downstream surfaces also experience harsh
exposure due to water spray and high velocity flows around the gate members.

 The paint should be bright to reflect solar rays and heat to minimize thermal
expansion and contraction of the gate members.

Based on the above considerations, a vinyl paint system is considered by the Corps of
Engineers as the most suitable for spillway tainter gates and is usually recommended for
new application after complete removal of the existing paint.

The use of vinyl paints may be restricted due to stringent regulations governing the use of
volatile organic compounds. Some painting contractors have recently proposed an
alternative of coal tar epoxy paint for immersion and epoxy metric/urethane paint for
non-immersion surfaces. The disadvantages of this approach are that coal tar epoxy
paints do not reflect solar rays and are not recommended for spillway tainter gates,
although they are ideally suited for submerged gates.

For immersion exposure type situations, such as spillway gates, the Bureau of
Reclamation uses epoxy polyamide coating for which brief specifications are given
below. This paint can be considered for repainting gates after total removal of existing
paints containing lead, in lieu of vinyl resin paints.

EPOXY POLYMIDE COATING

SPECIFICATIONS

COMPOSITION Self-priming, two-component, epoxy-polyamide

coating

Mixed usable pot life at 70 degrees F. 2 hours, minimum

Recoating time at 70 degrees F 8 hours, minimum

2 months, maximum

Cathodic disbondment Has passed a recognized standard test

Volume solids 80 percent, minimum

VOC (as supplied) 1.5 pounds per gallon (175.6 grams per liter),
maximum

Mixing ratio 1 to 1, by volume

Application method Brush, roller, conventional or airless spray

Minimum curing temperature 50 degrees F

Time before immersion after the final 7 days, minimum

coat has been applied at 70 degrees F

Metalizing with zinc is gaining popularity. It is more expensive than paint, but provides
reliable long-term protection. The Bureau of Reclamation has used zinc metalizing on
the tainter gates at Blue Mesa Dam with excellent results. The Salt River Project (SRP)
applied a zinc metalizing coating on the gates at Mormon Flat Dam in 1972. The gates
were inspected twenty years later (1992) and the remaining service life of the coating was
estimated. No rust or corrosion of any kind was found anywhere on the gates. In spite of
the excellent condition of the zinc metalizing, SRP assumed that somewhere between 10
and 20 percent of the useful life of the coating system had passed. Applying these
percentages to the actual 20-year life, SRP estimated a service life of between 100 and
200 years with no maintenance. ECI has specified metalizing for the coating at new
tainter gates in Puerto Rico to provide a coating that will last for at least 50 years.
 STANDBY POWER

Besides rigorous maintenance and exercise programs, a reliable power supply for gate
operation is vitally important. Non operation of gates will not only cause overflow of the
gates but also overtopping of the dam, possibly leading to dam failure. Provision of a
standby automatic on line generator is, therefore, not only essential for spillway gate
operation to supply a reliable standby emergency power supply but is also cost effective
to ensure dam safety. In addition, a portable engine generator is advisable at high-risk
dams. Neither one of these systems can be relied upon unless they are maintained. This
includes not only periodic maintenance, but also exercising of the equipment with an
applied load to ensure that its reliable operation when needed in an emergency. In
extremely high hazard locations, a backup to the emergency power supply may be even
advisable and has been installed at some dams.

GATE VIBRATIONS

Severe vibrations of spillway tainter gates sometimes threaten the safety of the gate
structure and even the dam itself. An example is a dam in Indonesia, where the
vibrations, due to underflow only, were so severe as to frighten personnel working on the
spillway bridge and footbridge nearby. Such vibrations are often caused by improper
gate bottom geometry and bottom seal configuration. Prevention of jet impingement on
gate members at the bottom during underflow and provision of a relatively thin
rectangular seal at the bottom of the gate instead of a J-type seal that has been used in
some installation will usually eliminate such vibrations.

GATE JAMMING

Tainter gates tend to jam during their operation due to various causes such as:

• bulging of pier concrete and consequent skinplate or guide jamming against the
bulged concrete surface

• wedging of trash or timber or tree branches between the gate and pier

• uneven chain or rope pull that tends to tilt the gate

Many instances of bulging of old concrete in the piers and consequent jamming of the
gates are known. In such cases, remedial measures have consisted of either chipping off
the bulged surfaces or in some extreme cases, trimming the skinplate edges, where
necessary. Wedging of trash and other debris can be prevented by proper design of side
seals of the gate to block the entry of trash and prevent consequent gate jamming.

Uneven rope pull should be avoided by frequent checks to ensure equal rope tautness.
Wire ropes should be inspected at least annually to check for slack. Turnbuckles are
useful to aid in removing slack from the wire ropes. At least two wire ropes should be
used on each side of the gate. Equalizers should be included to avoid uneven rope pull.
In some installations, instruments are mounted on the wire ropes to detect slack.
Excessive slack can also turn off the hoist motor.

Guide rollers or shoes mounted on the gate sides, as shown in Figure 6 (at least two per
side) with clearance between wall plate and the guides not to exceed 1/4 inch, will
minimize gate tilt and thus prevent gate jamming. Guide rollers should have self-
lubricating bronze bushings and stainless steel shafts to ensure proper operation with
minimum maintenance.

MOTOR STALL TORQUE

All motors stall when the hoist pull and consequent torque increases well beyond the
normal design torque, due to gate jamming or such other reasons. In this situation, the
hoist motors tends to increase the hoist pull to several times the normal pull. In some
existing installations the maximum stall torque has been found to be as high as five times
the normal torque. High stall torque of this magnitude will likely over stress gate
components and may lead to their possible failure. It is therefore important to limit the
stall torque to about 2.8 times the normal torque by installing a torque limit switch in the
hoist assembly.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to express their thanks to Mr. Dan Cassapula of the U. S. Army Corps
of Engineers for his valuable comments and suggestions in reviewing this paper.

REFERENCES

Beitelman, Alfred D., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station,
Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, REMR Bulletin, June 1992

Rodriguez, J. L., Radial Gate Trunnion Lubrication, Bureau of Reclamation, Denver,

Colorado, USCOLD Newsletter, November 1999.

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lubricants and Hydraulic Fluids, Engineering Manual

EM 1110-2-1424, 28 February 1999.
Figure No. 1 - Typical wire rope connection to upstream face of tainter gate. Gate leaf
was made of stainless steel and gate arms were galvanized. The connection was
incorrectly specified to be carbon steel. The result is corrosion shown in photo.

Figure No. 2 - Typical tension linkage chain (roller chain) with pins, rollers and sidebars.
Damage to hoist support frame due to absence or failure of limit switches or operator
error.
Figure No. 3 - Typical link type lifting chain and hoist drum.

Figure No. 4 – Corrosion on horizontal gate members due to lack of maintenance and
clogged drain holes.
Figure No. 5 - Tainter Gates with ogee lip and side shields designed for overtopping.

Figure No. 6 – Typical tainter gate side shoe without rollers that can cause gate jamming.