Gate valves control water flow in various industries and locations. They can be made of wood or metal and slide vertically or act like a flap. Gates regulate water movement for flood control and agriculture. Penstocks are often moved by hydraulic systems, while sluice gates were historically used in mills. Fish cannot pass through gates in rice paddies, but guidelines have been established to ensure their survival.
A gate valve is a mechanism used to control the flow of water. These devices are often used in water treatment plants, mines, dams, rice paddies, and cranberry bogs, among other places. Gates are typically made of wood or metal and often slide vertically on a frame to open or close, allowing water to either drain out of a space or be contained within it. For this reason they are also known as portcullis.
However, the design of the shutter is not limited to just a vertical sliding system. One type of gate acts like a flap and is moved by water pressure which is greater to one side than the other. Others are even cylindrical in nature.
The word closed means a man-made channel or modified natural stream that conducts water. This type of gate regulates how and where water is moved. This is especially useful for controlling floods or water levels in agriculture and other industries.
Many penstocks are moved by a system of threaded rods, which must be regularly cleaned and lubricated. Often when these gates are used in applications with a large amount of water pressure, such as dams, they are raised and lowered by hydraulic systems to control the flow of the gates. Sometimes in smaller uses, such as in Cranberry Bogs, the gates are raised and lowered manually. Other times an electric lift system is used.
Historically, sluice gates have proved useful in mills. A mill lock was known as a mill run and often turned a water wheel or turbine, which could then be used to power necessary equipment in sawmills and flour mills. The mill was often regulated by sluice gates to decrease or increase the flow of water, as needed.
A lock may be known by other names depending on geographic location. For example, in the coastal lowlands of Sommerset, England, doors are known as clyce or clyse. In Guyana, they are referred to as kokers.
One concern with using sluice gates in rice paddies is that fish often cannot get through them. In Bangladesh, for example, much of the floodplain is used for rice cultivation and the water level is regulated for optimal growth. Because locks were used for this, fish became scarce where it was once plentiful. Traditionally, fish has formed an important part of the diet of the poor inhabiting the region. Once the problem was recognised, guidelines were established for the use of the gate, ensuring that fish can travel to where needed so local fishing remains viable.
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