SLUICE GATE FOR A HYDROPOWER STATION

Abstract

A sluice gate for a hydropower station, a method of operating a sluice gate and a hydropower station. The sluice gate includes rollers via which the sluice gate can be movably mounted on rails and a sealing surface having a seal with which an upstream water can be sealed off from a downstream water. Lubricant lines are provided through which lubricant can be fed to the rollers and lubricant return lines are connected to the rollers. Via the lubricant return lines, used lubricant can be guided from the rollers to one or more collection locations in order to be able to collect and properly dispose of used lubricant.

Claims

1. A sluice gate for a hydropower station having rollers via which the sluice gate can be movably mounted on rails and a sealing surface having a seal with which an upstream water can be sealed off from a downstream water, wherein lubricant lines are provided through which lubricant can be fed to the rollers, wherein lubricant return lines connected to the rollers are provided, via which lubricant return lines used lubricant can be guided from the rollers to one or more collection locations in order to be able to collect and properly dispose of used lubricant.

2. The sluice gate according to claim 1, wherein the rollers are arranged in multiple rows and lubricant return lines of multiple rollers, in particular rollers of a row, are connected to a shared lubricant return collection line.

3. The sluice gate according to claim 2, wherein the lubricant return collection line is roughly vertically oriented.

4. The sluice gate according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant return collection line has a diameter that is equal to at least five times a diameter of the lubricant return lines.

5. The sluice gate according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant return lines connect locations on the rollers to locations on the lubricant return collection line that are essentially arranged in the same horizontal position.

6. The sluice gate according to claim 1, wherein multiple lubricant lines are arranged, at least in regions, in a channel together with the lubricant return collection line, which channel comprises at an upper end closable openings through which fresh lubricant can be fed and used lubricant can be removed.

7. The sluice gate according to claim 6, wherein the channel vertically protrudes past the sealing surface at an upper end.

8. The sluice gate according to claim 1, wherein one or more protective plates are provided which are arranged roughly parallel to the sealing surface and between which protective plates and the sealing surface the lubricant lines, the lubricant return lines, and/or the lubricant return collection line are arranged, at least in regions.

9. A hydropower station, in particular a dam, having a sluice gate that can be moved on rails, with which sluice gate an upstream water can be separated from a downstream water, wherein the sluice gate is embodied according to claim 1.

10. A method for operating a sluice gate of a hydropower station, wherein the sluice gate mounted on one or more rails in order to seal off an upstream water from a downstream water or to produce a connection between the upstream water and downstream water, wherein lubricant is fed to the rollers through lubricant lines, wherein used lubricant is moved from the rollers to one or more collection locations through lubricant return lines, wherein the sluice gate is in particular embodied according to claim 1.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the used lubricant is pumped away from one or more collection locations located below the rollers, in particular from a lubricant return collection line connected to multiple lubricant return lines, using a pump, in particular a mobile pump.

12. The method according to claim 10 wherein, wherein the used lubricant is liquefied before being conveyed to the collection location(s), in particular by adding chemicals.

Description

[0029] Additional features, advantages, and effects of the invention follow from the exemplary embodiment described below. In the drawings which are thereby referenced:

[0030] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a sluice gate according to the invention in different views;

[0031] FIGS. 3 and 4 show detailed views of a sluice gate according to the invention.

[0032] FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a sluice gate 1 according to the invention in different views. The sluice gate 1 comprises a sealing surface 3 with a peripheral seal 4 visible in FIG. 1, by means of which an upstream water can be hydraulically separated from a downstream water. FIG. 2 shows the rear side of the sluice gate 1, wherein reinforcing ribs that mechanically stabilize the sealing surface 3 are also visible.

[0033] Furthermore, the sluice gate 1 in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 comprises visible, rotatable rollers 2, by means of which the sluice gate 1 can be movably mounted on two rails, not shown, in order to be able to alter a water level of the upstream water relative to the downstream water, in that the sluice gate 1 is moved along the rails, as a rule vertically.

[0034] In order to be able to lubricate the rollers 2 or the bearings of the rollers 2, lubricant lines 5 are provided which respectively reach from channels 9 protruding past the scaling surface 3 at an upper end to the individual rollers 2 or bearings. Each individual bearing or each individual roller 2 can thus be separately supplied with lubricant.

[0035] Furthermore, lubricant return lines 6 connected to the individual rollers 2 or bearings are provided, which lubricant return lines 6 likewise open into the channels 9 at the head end. However, the lubricant return lines 6 do not directly open into the channels 9, but rather initially into a vertical lubricant return collection line 7, from which the used lubricant from all rollers 2 of a row 8 can be disposed of in a collected manner, for example using a mobile pump. For this purpose, one lubricant return collection line 7 is provided per row 8, in which lubricant collection line 7 used lubricant from the rollers 2 of a row 8 is collected. A leakage of used lubricant into a surrounding area is thus avoided, and an environmental pollution is easily prevented.

[0036] As can be seen, the lubricant lines 5 and the lubricant return collection line 7 are vertically oriented, so that used lubricant collected in the lubricant return collection line 7 can be easily removed from said lubricant return collection line 7, for example using a pump.

[0037] Furthermore, it can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2 that the lubricant lines 5, the lubricant return lines 6, and the lubricant return collection lines 7 are covered by protective plates 12 that are roughly parallel to the sealing surface 3 so that the lubricant lines 5, the lubricant return lines 6, and the lubricant return collection lines 7 are positioned between the sealing surface 3 and the protective plates 12.

[0038] FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of a sluice gate 1 according to the invention, namely a region of the rollers 2, wherein in the region of a roller 2 the protective plates 12 are not illustrated, so that the lubricant lines 5 assigned to said roller 2, the lubricant return line 6, and the lubricant return collection line 7 can be better identified. As can be seen, the roller 2 or a bearing of the roller 2 is connected to the lubricant line 5 on the one hand, which lubricant line 5 projects from a roller axle 13 to an upper end of the associated channel 9. In order to lubricate the bearings of the rollers 2, the lubricant or grease is typically guided from the roller axle 13 to the bearing through radial bores. On the other hand, a lubricant return line 6 is provided which is likewise connected to the roller axle 13 at an end and, in terms of the diameter, is roughly equal to the lubricant line 5. At the other end, the lubricant return line 6 opens into a lubricant return collection line 7 which, in terms of the diameter, is embodied to be significantly larger than the lubricant line 5 and the lubricant return line 6. The lubricant return collection line 7 is roughly vertically oriented, so that used lubricant from the individual bearings is collected in said lubricant return collection line 7 and, for example, can be removed from the lubricant return collection line 7 using a mobile pump. The lubricant return collection line 7 closed at a lower end, in which lubricant return collection line 7 used lubricant from the rollers 2 of a row 8 is collected, runs essentially parallel to the eight lubricant lines 5 through which the bearings of the eight rollers 2 of said row 8 of the sluice gate are supplied with lubricant.

[0039] As can be seen, the lubricant return line 6 connects locations of the roller axle 13 and the lubricant return collection line 7 that are essentially located in the same horizontal position, or there is possibly a slight slope from the roller axle 13 to the lubricant return collection line 7, so that a short line length of the lubricant return line 6, and therefore a low resistance in said lubricant return line 6, to the lubricant return collection line 7 results. This ensures a reliable removal of used lubricant.

[0040] In order to convey used lubricant from the bearings, which lubricant can clump up, into the lubricant return collection line 7 in a particularly reliable manner, it can be provided that chemicals are fed to the bearings, for example via the lubricant lines 5, which chemicals cause the clumped lubricant to be liquefied and to flow into the lubricant return collection line 7 due to gravity. It shall be understood that the most diverse chemicals can be used depending on the lubricant used.

[0041] FIG. 4 shows a fitting arranged at a head end of the channels 9. As can be seen, the fitting comprises nine closable openings, wherein eight openings are embodied as lubricant feed openings 10 which are connected to the eight lubricant lines 5 for the bearings of the eight rollers 2 of a row 8. Furthermore, the fitting comprises an opening embodied as a removal opening 11 for the lubricant return collection line 7 that likewise opens into the fitting, which opening is closed by a detachable cover in this case and through which additional removal opening 11 lubricant collected in the lubricant return collection line 7 can be removed by means of a mobile pump. A maintenance and a removal of used lubricant are thus easily possible from an upper end of the sluice gate 1.

[0042] The sluice gate 1 according to the invention can, for example, be used on a dam and enables a particularly environmentally friendly operation, especially since used lubricant does not flow into a body of water, as is common with sluice gates 1 from the prior art, but rather can be collected via the lubricant return lines 6 and then properly disposed of.