Ruhr weir system at Duisburg (Duisburg)

The river Ruhr weir system at Duisburg is located at Ruhr km 2.626 and is, viewed in the flow direction, the last weir before the Ruhr enters the Rhine.

The construction comprises 4 weir sections with a clear width of 30 m, each. The existing inspection gates - consisting of trusswork posts and bulkheads - are no longer stable and have to be replaced.

Various variants were considered in the pre-planning stage. Due to numerous restrictive conditions, the design of a special gate body was required. Consequently, a structure that is floated horizontally and subsequently turned into the vertical position using an appropriate ballasting conception and positioned on the sill. After floating the gate into position, a bottom support shoe is extracted to the left and right into recesses in the solid structure. The position of the inspection gate in the weir section is hence fixed. With regard to the raising procedure, the inspection gate is provided with an emptying and ballasting system, as well as with two rope winches to support the process. As soon as the inspection gate has reached the vertical position, the top support shoes are extracted into the recesses, and the inspection gate is lowered to the sill by ballasting. The load of the water is discharged into the existing columns and the sill by the support shoes.

Apart from the design as a 3D-CAD model and FE as well as floating stability computations, a special focus was put on good accessibility of the inspection gate in both positions (horizontally and vertically).

The design was performed together with grbv Ingenieure as regards the solid construction, and DriveCon as regards control and automation Technology.

Project planning
Structural engineering

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