Design Engineering

Vortex Hydra’s Technical Department has over 45 years of experience in the design of hydraulic works having successfully developed and completed numerous commissioned projects in this specialist field of engineering.The Vortex team comprise of both a young and enterprising group of Engineers and Technicians that are fully capable of devising innovative solutions that are tailored to suit a customer’s needs…

Stoplogs

The Stop Logs are custom designed steel bulkheads that are used in channels or control structures to hold back the flow of water. They are individually lowered on top of one another via a vertical guide system to a pre-determined height, to suit the dimensions of the sluice that they are restricting the water flow through. The design of the Stop Logs is a single rectangular unit that can be used in single or modular format to…

Miter Gates

Navigation Locks (or Pound Locks) are used on canals, rivers and dams to allow boats to bypass any obstructive structure in its navigational path and/or for the raising and lowering of boats between stretches of different water levels.The Navigation Lock is normally a long narrow constructed canal type structure of suitable dimensions to allow a boat to pass through it. Steel Gates (called “Mitre” or “Miter” Gates)…

Bottom Outlet Bonnetted Gates

The Bottom Outlet Gates are high pressure gates that are employed as a safety device during general maintenance operations – their specific wide dimensions allow the dam basin to be emptied very quickly.Located at the bottom (or “low level”) of the dam’s basin, they consist of a pressurised pipe that is closed by twin sliding gates, that allow water to pass through even when partially open.The concept of twin operating…

Radial Gates

The Radial Gate (also called Tainter Gate or Taintor Gate) is a different type of floodgate used to control the water flow through dams and canal locks. This type of floodgate is raised and lowered by radial arms located on either side of the gate.The design of the Radial Gate consists of a suitably reinforced rolled steel skin plate that has two structurally designed radial arms located on either side. The pivoting radial arms…

Flap Gates

Flap gates (also called Tilting Gates) are mainly employed to control the flow of water through flood barriers, reservoirs and rivers.Flap gates are of a heavy duty structural design consisting of a steel reinforced skin plate the outer side of which is loaded against the water pressure when the gate is in a closed position.The Flap Gates are designed to operate in a vertical position whereby they restrict the main flow of water…

Slide & Fixed Wheel Gates

The Fixed Wheels & the Slide Gates are two type of Floodgates mainly used to provide a vertical water barrier in waterworks, inside a pressured system or in open water channels. Both these Floodgates can also operate in a partially opened position to control water flows.The ‘opening/closing’ mechanism can consist of wheels being mounted in the vertical sides of the gates that move up and down within fixed side guides so…

Fixed Cone Valves

The Fixed Cone Valves (also called Free Discharge Valves) are mainly used as an alternative to Hollow Jet Valves in applications that require water to be freely discharged into the atmosphere at controlled rates. This type of valve dissipates enormous amounts of energy by breaking down the water into a large, hollow expanding jet.The Fixed Cone Valves are designed to operate at variable controlled flow rates between fully open…