PIANC INCOM Working Group (WG) 166 “Inflatable Structures in Hydraulic Engineering” held its kick-off meeting on September 2013 in Maastricht, The Netherlands. The work was influenced by current projects in Belgium, France and Germany, where inflatable structures will be applied to waterways. Rubber gates and steel-rubber gates have a number of advantages when compared with standard steel gates due to the simplicity and flexibility of the structure. Generally, capital and maintenance costs are supposed to be lower than steel gates. This paper describes the development of inflatable gates and steel-rubber gates in Europe, USA and Asia, introduces to the terminology and gives a basic understanding of the technology. A decision support is given related to useful dimensions, range of applications, filling media and costs. The paper presents also some general considerations regarding the boundary conditions, hydraulic characteristics, choice of filling medium, aspects of vandalism and environmental issues which have to be taken account when designing a weir with inflatable gates.
Fabrice Daly