| The force exerted on the side of the AquaDam® is then: |
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Having determined the force on the side of the AquaDam®, we can evaluate the tendency of the AquaDam® to tip. We assume point A as the pivot point and sum moments about this point. The moment created by each force, is a measure of how much the force contributes to rotating the first column of water around point A.
OR
Simplifying the expression we see that the stability of the AquaDam® is dependant on the relationship between its width (D) and the depth of water it must resist.
D=(.82)h
The relationship above indicates the minimum width of the AquaDam® to prevent it from tipping when resisting water with a depth (h) equal to the height of the AquaDam® itself. The design height for the AquaDam® to prevent tipping would be described as:
D>(.82)h
In order to quantify the stability of the AquaDam® we substitute the actual dimensions of the standard AquaDam® for D and h into the equation above. The results are expressed in terms of a safety factor. The safety factor indicates how many times greater the water pressure or water depth must be in order to roll the AquaDam®. Based on the current AquaDam® designs, the safety factor against tipping when the water levels are to the top of the AquaDam® areas follows: