Panama Canal – A Master Piece in Engineering !

Hi Friends, this information is for you all guys and gals ! All my shipping friends already know about the beauty of Panama Canal and how these locks play a vital role . It’s really a Master Piece in Engineering. Below you will find a brief description about the construction of Panama Canal. These figures are taken from a source

The Panama Canal Locks, which lift ships up 25.9 m (85 ft) to the main elevation of the Panama Canal, were one of the greatest engineering works ever to be undertaken at the time, eclipsed only by other parts of the canal project. The total length of the lock structures, including the approach walls, is over 3 kilometres (nearly two miles).

The locks, which have a total of six steps, limit the maximum size of ships which can transit the canal, known as Panamax. Each of these steps has two lock chambers, doubling the amount of traffic that can be handled; together they raise ships from sea level to a height of 25.9 m (85 ft).The locks are to be expanded in the near future to allow more and larger ships to use the canal.

There are three sets of locks in the canal. A two-step flight at Miraflores, and a single flight at Pedro Miguel, lift ships from the Pacific up to Lake Gatun then a triple flight at Gatun lowers them to the Atlantic side. All three sets of locks are paired; that is, there are two parallel flights of locks at each of the three lock sites. This, in principle, allows ships to pass in opposite directions simultaneously; however, large ships cannot cross safely at speed in the Gaillard Cut, so in practice ships pass in one direction for a time, then in the other, using both "lanes" of the locks in one direction at a time.

The lock chambers are 33.53 meters (110 ft) wide by 320.0 meters (1050 ft) long, with a usable length of 304.8 metres (1000 ft). These dimensions determine the maximum size of ships which can use the canal; this size is known as Panamax. The total lift (the amount by which a ship is raised or lowered) in the three steps of the Gatun locks is 25.9 m (85 ft); the lift of the two-step Miraflores locks is 16.5 m (54 ft). The single-step Pedro Miguel lock has a lift of 9.5 m (31 ft). The lift at Miraflores actually varies due to the extreme tides on the Pacific side, between 13.1 m (43 ft) at extreme high tide and 19.7 m (64.5 ft) at extreme low tide; the tides on the Atlantic side, however, are very small.

The lock chambers are massive concrete structures. The side walls are from 13.7 to 15.2 metres (45 to 55 feet) thick at the bases; towards the top, where less strength is required, they taper down in steps to 2.4 m (8 ft). The centre wall between the chambers is 18.3 m (60 ft) thick, and houses three long galleries which run the full length of the centre wall. The lowest of these is a drainage tunnel; above this is a gallery for electrical cabling; and towards the top is a passageway which allows operators to gain access to the lock machinery.

The water is moved by gravity, and is controlled by huge valves in the culverts; each cross culvert is independently controlled. A lock chamber can be filled in as little as eight minutes; there is significant turbulence in the lock chamber during this process.

Since all the equipment of the locks is operated electrically, the whole process of locking a ship up or down can be controlled from a central control room, which is located on the centre wall of the upper flight of locks. The controls were designed from the outset to minimise the chances of operator error, and include a complete model of the locks, with moving components which mirror the states of the real lock gates and valves. In this way, the operator can see exactly what state the locks and water valves are in.

Mechanical interlocks are built into the controls to make sure that no component can be moved while another is in an incorrect state; for example, opening the drain and fill valves of a lock chamber simultaneously.

Please find below a small Video Footage of a vessel passing through these locks , Its worth watching it !