Montech water slope

The wedge of water lift of Montech (French Pente d' eau de Montech ) is a boat lift on the Canal de Garonne in the village of Montech in the French department of Tarn- et- Garonne in southwestern France. In 1974, the wedge of water lift was inaugurated as the first of its kind.

The advantage of this design is that mainly recreational boats can be transported into the Canal de Garonne much faster than with the five locks that are commonly used for this purpose. The transport takes only about 20 minutes here. It can be transported boats that are up to 40 m long.

Since a fire in one of the two drive units in May 2009, is the elevator out of service. If and when it will be repaired, remain unknown to date. Since then, the channel for ships with more than 28.5 meters in length no longer passable, since only the lock staircase is available.

Principle of operation

The wedge of water lift of Montech is a special variant of the inclined elevator. The wet support the vessels takes place in a stationary prismatic groove with almost rectangular cross section and a constant pitch. One or more ships are driving in mountainous terrain, together with the wedge of water in which they swim thereby pushed diagonally upwards.

The ships are moored in a push bar behind them. Even further back, a water gate is sunk into the trough from the top, the bottom and side ascribes the channel profile and thus delimits the water wedge. Beams and gate are coupled to each other along the channel pushed diagonally upwards and move as the ships, including the wedge of water - low - slope diagonally up. The water level reaches the wedge, the height of the upper water -holding that this floodgate is opened and the ships can extend.

Details of the drawworks

The wedge of water lift of Montech consists of:

• A concrete-lined channel, the straight line a slope leads with constant cross section up,
• Two diesel locomotives, which are rigidly connected to each other via two cross bars that extend across the channel,
• A water gate, which shuts off the water wedge into the groove and pushes, as well as
• A horizontal scroll bar - a bit uphill in front of goal - for mooring the ship

The two diesel- electric-powered 4-axle locomotives generate an output of 1,000 hp. Each axis is driven and carries two about 1.80 m high profiled tires. The parallel -coupled locomotive pair moves with it on the two on either side of the channel running driving dams made ​​of concrete along up and down.

The precise guidance along the entire gutter is made at each of a concrete rail on each roadway. These rails project with an approximately square section of 40 cm width and height between the driving wheels of the locomotive from the roadway. Close to the ground are now horizontal wheels in pairs, right and left of this rail on. This Führungsradpaare are the front and back mounted at the bottom of the locomotives something after the first and before the rearmost axle.

The locomotives have at both ends to the middle axle suspension buffer. A sequence 6 -widening white marking fields on a rail allowed by visors from just above the water side lying guide stands of locomotives accurate driving up to the lower limit position.

On images from 2002 and 2008, the locomotives are underwater frontal, where they are completely windowless, labeled with foil: Logo " VNF " water shaft and including the cursive " Voies Navigables de France ".

At the canal, which arrives as an underwater on the lift acts as a conclusion a very similarly shaped and hinged water gate as the Lokpaar which closes the water wedge. The pivot arms of both gates are under the water side mounted respectively in a rotary joint with a horizontal axis a few meters above the water level. Thereby, when the long wedge is pushed away, not its large volume from underwater after, but only the little water that runs through the leak between water gate and the channel wall. More water then arrives through the wedge - water gate, as this can not seal so well when sliding along the channel. The water volume of the wedge is therefore constantly updated by a controlled afterflow from headwater ago.

When a ship from underwater ago drive into the elevator to stationary water gate (mounted on land bridge ), be raised so water gate of the elevator ( the rigid connecting bar of the Lokpaars ) and mooring beams, that the clear height for (possibly partially lowered ) superstructure of the boat sufficient. The ship ( or more within a limited length) then stops in the channel, the mooring bar is lowered hydraulically behind the ship by rotation and then dipped a little into the water. The ship is tied down at this bar, on which to hang a series Fender. Two jaws which are stored near the channel wall in perpendicular axes on the beam can be hydraulically pressed diagonally opposite the ship to tighten the lashing and the ship clearly align channel walls, so it does not anstreift at the lifting drive.

After the retracted ship anchored on the mooring bar at the Lokomotiv pair and the wedge of water by lowering the ( locomotive ) Wassertor is isolated, lifting the journey can begin. The entire structure at Lokomotiv couple slides over the water gate the wedge of water along with it, the ship afloat the rising channel has until the water level of the wedge reaches the upper hand upward and the water gate can be opened on the upper water to exit the ship.

A descent of the water wedge including vessel makes a lot of potential energy in the locomotives free, the demand on the heat output of the drum brakes on the wheels well. The electric drive motors are therefore well connected as generators and dine braking resistors that burn the electrical energy. A floating boat displaces Archimedes exactly his own mass of water, so does not increase the total mass, but could in smaller vessels of the wedge of water on the road are held to drive up or down to save energy braking slightly smaller. A blank run without ship can be raised with water gate and therefore extra light went without water wedge.

On mobile water gate line of the seal on the channel wall opposite a sign appears wedge-shaped - to be reset - top more. The shield could be a Notpuffer against the ship, if the mooring beams should break. An air-filled cavity behind the shield reduces the mass of the water wedge that needs to be moved. The angle of the sealing line with the gate closed with respect to the perpendicular to the vertical or to the swing arm produces a hydrostatic pressure force pressing the gate to the channel bottom.

This technique was designed by Julius Greve and further developed and implemented by the French engineer Jean Aubert.

Specifications

• Level difference: 13.3 m
• Slope of the gutter: 3%
• Length of the trough: 443 m
• Width of the groove: 6 m
• Height of the walls of the trough: 4.35 m
• Water height at head: 2.50 m
• Water height at the Elevator: 3.75 m
• Length of the water wedge: 125 m
• Moving water: 1500 m³
• Performance of the locomotives: 2 x 1000 hp
• Length, width and tonnage of the boats: 38.5 m / 5,50 m / t 250

43.9702777777781.2275Koordinaten: 43 ° 58 ' 13 " N, 1 ° 13' 39" E