Hydraulic Design and Performance of the Filling and Emptying System of the Panama Canal Third Set of Locks

The Panama Canal Third Set of Locks is a three-lift lock with water saving basins (WSB) that have been designed to provide a safe and reliable transit system for Neo-Panamax vessels travelling in both directions between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. The hydraulic design consists in a dynamically balanced double longitudinal culvert side port Filling and Emptying System. It was constructed for the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) under a design-build contract awarded in August 2009 to the consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) and inaugurated in June 2016. The design was prepared by CICP Consultores Internacionales, a design JV led by Stantec (formerly MWH).

This paper will present the process, methodology and tools employed to develop and validate the filling and emptying system design, from original concept through system commissioning.

A robust and comprehensive design methodology, comprising numerical and physical hydraulic modeling, was developed and implemented to deliver the required filling and emptying system performance objectives. The design considered stringent Employer’s Requirements that included, among others, maximum allowable filling and emptying times, maximum allowable water surface slopes in the locks, maximum allowable flow velocities and water saving capacity. Also, the designed single lane of locks must be functional, reliable, and able to operate 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and achieve a 99.6% level of availability. As a result, the system has been provided with redundant components such as culverts, conduits, valves, and operating systems. These redundant components, along with the need for the locks to be available even during most maintenance or inspection operations, involve many different operational scenarios while meeting operational safety and efficiency criteria.

As part of the new facilities commissioning, a prototype measurement plan was developed to demonstrate compliance with the Employer’s Requirements for system performance. Main results collected during the startup and commissioning of the system and the evolution of its performance over the firsts years of operations will be presented proving that the designed innovative system performs as required.