Application of the momentum function equation to evaluate

the thrust force on a sluice gate[edit]

The momentum equation can be applied to determine the force exerted by water on a sluice gate
(Figure 7). Contrary to the conservation of fluid energy when a flow encounters a sluice gate, the
momentum upstream and downstream of the gate is not conserved. The thrust force exerted by
water on a gate placed in a rectangular channel can be obtained from the following equation,
which can be derived in the same way as the conservation of momentum equation for rectangular
channels:

Where:

 Fthrust-gate = force exerted by water on the sluice gate (ML/t2)

 γ = specific weight of water (M/L2t2)
 ΔMunit = difference in momentum per unit width between the upstream and downstream
sides of the sluice gate (L2).

Figure 7: Force on a Sluice Gate (simplified version)

Example[edit]

Water is flowing through a smooth, frictionless, rectangular channel at a rate of 100.0 cfs. The
width of the channel is 10.0 ft. The flow depth upstream of the sluice gate was measured to be
16.3 ft with a corresponding alternate depths of 0.312 ft. The water temperature was measured to
be 70 °F. What is the thrust force on the gate?

Applying the momentum per unit width equation to the upstream and downstream locations
respectively:
and

The specific weight of water at 70°F is 62.30 . The resulting net thrust force on the sluice
gate is: