A trash rack (US) or debris screen is a wooden or metal structure, frequently supported by

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

, that prevents water-borne debris (such as logs, boats, animals, masses of cut waterweed, etc.) from entering the intake of a

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the productio ...

, pumping station or water conveyance. This protects

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buck ...

penstocks A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. ...

, and

sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

gates from destruction during

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

s. They are sometimes fitted to storm drain inflows and outflows to prevent debris from entering a natural watercourse. Other names used as trash screen (US) or debris grille. Trash racks composed of vertical wooden strakes separated by narrow gaps are very common and perform extremely poorly. Metal gratings are sturdier and can have narrower strakes, and angling the trash rack properly can allow some self-cleaning from the action of the water. Modern trash racks as used by hydroelectric plants can incorporate such advanced features as wedge-wire screens, the Coanda effect, and cleaning

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

s. In waterways with large amounts of floating debris, various permanently installed "trash rakes" may be required to reduce the labor required for regular cleaning. Trash racks are designed for water velocity of around 2 feet/second (0.6 metres/second) to prevent excessive energy loss due to the head loss across the trash rack. Close spacing keeps out more small floating debris or fish, but may plug up easily with frazil ice in cold climates. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ''Ice Engineering - Engineering and Design (EM 1110-2-1612)'' page 20-11

References

Watermills {{Industry-stub