Locks are key structures for the development of the navigation in canals and in natural rivers where weirs regulate water levels to enable navigation. They may also be strategic infrastructure for port development.
rnrnIn lower elevation regions, such as New Orleans and the Netherlands, locks are structures in dikes and also have an important task in flood defence.
rnrnIn 1986, PIANC produced a comprehensive report of 445 pages on Locks (PIANC, 1986). For about twenty years this report has been considered as a world reference guideline, but it now needs updating to include new design techniques and concepts. PIANC decided in 2006 to launch a new Working Group (WG) to update the report, and this present report is the result. The new report must be considered more as a complement to the 1986 report than a replacement version, and focuses on new design techniques and concepts that were not reported in the former report. It covers all the aspects of the design of a lock but does not duplicate the material included in the former report. Innovations and changesthat have occurred since 1986 are the main target of the present report.
rnrnThe core of this report has three major parts. The first part (Section 3) presents an exhaustive list of design goals associated with locks. This section is particularly important for decision makers who have to launch a new project. The second part (Section 4) reviews the design principles that must be considered by designers. This section is methodology oriented. The third part (Section 5) is technically oriented. All main technical aspects (hydraulics, structures, foundations, etc.) are reviewed, focussing on changes and innovations occurring since 1986. Perspectives and trends for the future are also listed. When appropriate, recommendations are listed.
rnrnMajor changes since 1986 concern maintenance and operational aspects, and more specifically how to consider these criteria as goals for the conceptual and design stages of a lock. Renovation and rehabilitation of existing locks will be an increasingly important topic for the future.
rnrnIn natural rivers, locks are usually associated with movable weirs, and in coastal areas with flood protection structures. In 2006 PIANC published the InCom-WG26 report ?Design of Movable Weirs and Storm Surge Barriers? (PIANC 2006). That report can be considered as a companion report to the present report as locks and weirs have many design aspects in common. Some design aspects are not discussed in this report since they have already been developed in the InCom WG26 report on weirs (for instance: multi-criteria assessment for comparison of design alternatives, and a list of numerical design tools).
rnrnSection 2 of this report also includes more than 50 project reviews of existing (or lock projects under development) which describe the projects and their innovative aspects. Some purely innovative and untested concepts are also mentioned as references although with no guarantee of validity.
