The Hydro-Brake® Chamber comprises a precast reinforced concrete chamber base containing a bespoke Hydro-Brake® Flow Control.

Top view of the Hydro-Brake® Flow Control Pre-fitted in the Hydro-Brake® Chamber

The Hydro-Brake® Chamber is delivered to site ready for immediate installation. As the Hydro-Brake® Flow Control is already installed in the chamber complete with preformed benching (preformed benching with standard units only), installation is cut
to a fraction of the time compared to conventional methods.  Inlet hole(s) are cored or formed prior to delivery and are made to suit exact site requirements.  A range of outlet pipe sizes are also available to suit site requirements.

Hydro-Brake® Chamber Being Lifted into Position

Once lifted into position, the connecting pipework can be installed. Depending on the overall depth of chamber required, further concrete rings can be added and the cover slab positioned (additional concrete rings and cover slab sold separately).

Applications

Hydro-Brake® Flow Controls can be used wherever there is a need to limit the rate of forward flow of surface water within a drainage system. Typical schemes include:

• Source Control/SuDS Schemes.
• Traditional Attenuation Storage.
• Energy Dissipation / Velocity Control.

Advantages

• Bespoke Design
  Every Hydro-Brake® Chamber includes a made-to-measure Hydro-Brake® Flow Control designed to suit the site specific design. Standard units also have benching for the flow control preformed in the chamber. Step Irons can also be pre-fitted within the chamber if required.
• Inlets / Outlets
  Inlet hole(s) of up to 600m diameter ID can be cored / formed to the customer’s exact specification. A range of outlet sizes are available.
• Rapid Installation
  The Hydro-Brake® Chamber is delivered to site as one complete unit with the Hydro-Brake® Flow Control already installed in position. This guarantees the flow control is fitted correctly. No benching or coring is required.
• Simple Construction
  The strength of the reinforced concrete chamber eliminates the need for a concrete surround.
• Cost Saving
  The use of a Hydro-Brake® Flow Control can reduce the upstream storage volume requirement by up to 30%. This can significantly reduce capital expenditure.
• Minimal Maintenance
  The integral Hydro-Brake® Flow Control is totally self-activating, has no moving parts and requires no power to operate. The Hydro-Brake® outlet openings are 3-6 times greater than conventional flow controls thus reducing the risk of blockage.

Because Hydro-Brake^® Flow Controls harness the energy inherent in the flow field they have no moving parts and no power requirements.  With clear openings up to 600% larger than conventional flow control devices, the risk of blockage is reduced to an absolute minimum.

The design consists of an intake, a volute and an outlet.  The configuration is critical to ensure precise discharge control.  Flow is directed tangentially into a volute to form a vortex.  High peripheral velocities induce an air filled core with a resulting back pressure that reduces the discharge.

The Hydro-Brake^® Flow Control’s unique S-shaped head/discharge curve, which has been devised from extensive systematic modelling and testing, comprises of two distinct phases (see figure below).  As the head increases a transition takes place from free flow (lower portion of the curve) to vortex controlled flow (upper portion of the curve).

The Hydro-Brake^® Flow Control thereby achieves maximum design discharge rates at lower heads than conventional controls.  As a result storage requirements can be reduced by up to 30%, significantly lowering project costs.

The Hydro-Brake^® Flow Control sizing engine is built into Micro Drainage - the industry-standard drainage design suite (WinDes^®) and the drainage area planning suite (WinDap^®).  This allows the designer full control over unit selection ensuring the most efficient Hydro‑Brake^® Flow Controls are used on any given project.

For more information on how the Hydro-Brake® Flow Control works view the animation here.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What is a Hydro-Brake® Flow Control?

A Hydro-Brake® Flow Control is a no-moving parts, self-activating vortex flow control. When the upstream water level reaches a suitable level the water entering the unit spins within it. This causes the formation of an air-filled core which takes up a significant proportion of the outlet of the unit. Water discharges around the periphery of the outlet from the Hydro-Brake® Flow Control only which enables the use of a significantly larger outlet than if a simple orifice was used. The outlet cross-sectional area can be greater than 400% of that of the equivalent orifice required to meet the same head / discharge condition.

Q. Do they work under downstream surcharge conditions?

Yes, but an air vent pipe may be required to ensure that the air core can form. The flow through a Hydro-Brake® Flow Control is dependent upon the physical size of the unit itself and the differential head of water acting upon it.

Q. How much maintenance does a Hydro-Brake® Flow Control require?

Quite simply, this is site-dependent. It depends upon the size of the Hydro-Brake® Flow Control itself (the larger the unit the less the likelihood of a blockage occurring), the nature of the influent (for example a unit of a given size would be more susceptible to blockage were it placed on a foul system than on a purely surface water system) and physical characteristics of the control chamber itself (adequate benching is essential). We have minimum recommended sizes for use within surface and foul water systems and a range of Hydro-Brake®® shapes, each having defined discharge characteristics, to ensure that we tailor the most suitable unit to the specific site conditions in question.

Q. Why should I use a Hydro-Brake® Flow Control as opposed to a simple orifice which is cheaper?

There are many benefits in using a Hydro-Brake® Flow Control. Firstly the outlet cross-sectional area of a Hydro-Brake® Flow Control is typically four times that of an orifice which should result in a significant reduction in the likelihood of a blockage occurring. Thus maintenance costs and problems are also reduced. Secondly, at low upstream heads experienced in the early stages of a storm the vortex does not initiate. Consequently higher flows are passed forward than were an orifice installed (as the Hydro-Brake® Flow Control outlet is larger) and this results in less water being held back in storage. This means that a smaller storage tank can be used with associated cost savings. Typical volume reductions can range from 5 – 30% depending upon the system layout / design storm characteristics.