How would i open these doors on a gate I plan to build

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OliverStJohnMollusc
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i am trying to build a lifesize replica of the jurassic park gate and am trying to find out how i would go about making the doors open.
It would be made form re-enforced concrete and have poles going into the ground(there would be rooms in the concrete base to operate and install the hydraulics)
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I might move the axis of rotation (the hinge axis) a 2 or 3 inches inward away from those walls.
Then I would support the entire weight of a door on a post that was about 3 inches in diameter and centered on that rotation axis. That post would be supported below ground by a foot or more. That post length from ground level to the subsurface support plate would be where you affix something to the post (a gear or lever) to turn the post between the open and closed position - 90 degrees.
 
Heavy gates are usually supported by the fence that they are attached to. What are your gates attached to for support? If there is no fence, you may need guy wires to support the gate pivot posts.
 
OliverStJohnMollusc said:
i am trying to build a lifesize replica of the jurassic park gate
It's forty feet tall, fer cryin' out loud!
 
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the image the redditor used in the. inage i posted was when the explorer was right in front of it
 
When the full sized gate is completed i will come back here to post the image.
 
OliverStJohnMollusc said:
i am trying to build a lifesize replica of the jurassic park gate and am trying to find out how i would go about making the doors open.
It would be made form re-enforced concrete and have poles going into the ground(there would be rooms in the concrete base to operate and install the hydraulics)
Reinforced concrete will be expensive and heavy. Even if it was built from slabs of polymer or concrete foam, it would have major cost, weight and structural issues. It needs to be hollow.

I would build a metal edged, internal box frame, then bolt on an external lining of structural plywood and paint it with cement to make it look solid. It will look as good as a film set.

At the bottom of the hinge axis, would be an epicyclic hydraulic gearbox, a smaller version of those used to turn the drill string in a drill rig. The slower the doors move, the heavier they will look.

The wind forces involved would be high during storms, so there should be ways of letting the doors move like a weather vane, independent of the drive mechanism. To do that, a crown on the drive mechanism would carry the weight of the gate through an opposite crown at the foot of the gate hinge, that would provide a non-destructive breakaway movement, determined by the weight of the door and the slope of the crown gears.
 
Baluncore said:
Reinforced concrete will be expensive and heavy. Even if it was built from slabs of polymer or concrete foam, it would have major cost, weight and structural issues. It needs to be hollow.
@OliverStJohnMollusc will need to know of the mass of door and an estimate of the maximum side forces (including strong winds) before he can select exactly how the axis will be supported at the top and especially at the bottom.
 
You are going to need some very strong door posts. And the arch across the top is going to need to be very solid as well. They have to support the weight of these doors hanging from the hinges.

The hinges are going to need to be pretty strong also. You are going to want some clever method of sharing the load on the hinges so you don't get one hinge taking most of the weight. I don't just off know how to accomplish that.

I'm going to guess that some sort of hollow structure is in order. Say a lattice of pipes with painted cloth over them. Possibly even painting in the details that look like boards.
 
Wow! How long would this have to remain usable? Are you going to support yours with wheels at the ends? I even have trouble keeping small privacy fence gates from sagging and dragging on the ground.