Revisión De los Parámetros de Diseño Estructural En Compuertas Hidráulicas de Grandes Obras: Análisis Comparativo Entre las Esclusas Del Canal de Panamá Y las Propuestas Para el Canal Del Dique en Colombia

Abstract

The need to control flow rates, ensure navigability, and protect ecosystems in tropical river environments has driven the design of hydraulic structures such as sluice gates, whose performance depends largely on their structural characteristics. In tropical contexts, this design requires rigorous criteria to ensure strength, stability, and durability against hydrostatic loads, thermal effects, corrosion, and complex geotechnical conditions. The locks of the Panama Canal, especially after its expansion, are an international benchmark for their technical sophistication, with rolling gates capable of withstanding high hydrostatic stresses, earthquakes, and highly corrosive environments. In contrast, the restoration project for the Canal del Dique in Colombia involves similar infrastructure, facing challenges specific to soft soils, high sedimentation, and water variability, which raises questions about the adaptation of structural parameters in geotechnically different contexts.

This project develops documentary and comparative research focused on the technical analysis of the structural parameters used in the Panama Canal locks (materials, geometry, closure systems, foundations, and regulations) to compare them with the proposals for the hydraulic control system of the Canal del Dique on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The objective is to identify transferable structural principles that can be adapted to the Colombian context under standards such as Colombia NSR-10.

The methodology includes a regulatory and typological review, together with a structural analysis aimed at constructing a comparative matrix as the main result. This research seeks to contribute to the strengthening of the national river infrastructure from a structural engineering perspective, generating relevant technical inputs for the design of floodgates in tropical settings with challenging geotechnical conditions.