Project Areas
Wind Program
Hydropower Program
Fish Passage Effectiveness (Contact: Dennis Dauble 509-376-3631)
The objective of this study is to summarize recent advances in fish passage with emphasis on downstream passage of juvenile salmonids and lessons learned that can be applied to improving downstream passage of other species of concern. This information will be compiled and presented to hydropower developers and managers. Specific examples of recent development include surface bypass concepts, modification of ice/trash sluiceways, advanced bypass screen design, powerhouse loading, and changes in spill operations. We will compile and synthesize this information, discuss the application of monitoring and performance metrics relating to safe passage, and summarize the implications to hydropower operations and future design and development.
Emergence Timing (Contact: Tim Hanrahan 509-376-0972)
Research conducted under this project (cost-shared in FY03 by Idaho Power
Company and Bonneville Power Administration) evaluated the relationships
among river discharge, hyporheic zone characteristics, and egg pocket water
temperature in Snake River fall Chinook salmon spawning areas. The overall
objective was to evaluate relationships between riverbed hydrologic exchange
processes and the survival and emergence timing of incubating fall Chinook
salmon. We hypothesized that flows could be manipulated to accelerate egg
incubation and fry emergence, thereby shifting the smolt emigration from
the Hells Canyon Reach to a period when downstream reservoir water temperatures
are more conducive to survival.
Quantification of Hydraulic Forces (Contact: Dennis Dauble 509-376-3631)
The goal of this project is to quantify the response threshold of juvenile
fish to hydraulic forces. It has strong linkages to other programmatic components,
including sensor fish data and development of CFD-based biomechanics model.
Quantifying the dynamic parameters associated with the biological response
of fish requires characterization of the fine-scale hydraulics in the boundary
region of the fish as well as detailed information on the dynamic motion
of test objects.
Development of Biologically Based Operating Rules for Hydroturbine
(Biolndex Testing) (Contact: Gene Ploskey 509-427-9500 or Tom Carlson 503-417-7562)
The objective of this project is to develop a relationship between fish
size, turbine operations, and risk of injury for salmonids passing through
turbines. The probability of blade strike is a predominate factor resulting
in fish injury. Information on blade strike is also needed to develop biological
tests for establishing biocriteria for operation of turbines. Survival gains
for turbine-passed fish on the order of 10% above current levels may be
achievable with optimized conditions.
Turbulence Measurements / Physical Model Contact Tom Carlson 503-417-7562
or Mark Weiland 509-427-5923)
The goal of this project is to characterize the large-scale turbulence that
occurs in turbine draft tubes by tracking neutrally buoyant beads through
sections of the Corps of Engineers 1:25-scale physical turbine model for
Bonneville Dam Powerhouse 1 at the Environmental Research and Development
Center (ERDC) using high-speed digital video cameras to produce 3-D bead
trajectories. Near neutrally buoyant beads have been used to map the path
of flow and probable path of fish through turbines and to estimate probability
of strike and make general observations of hydraulic conditions. Previously,
these observations have been made in 2-dimensions at mainly a qualitative
level.
Biomechanics CFD (Contact: Marshall Richmond 509-372-6421)
Detailed measurements and computations are necessary to gain an improved
understanding of the biomechanics of injury mechanisms and injury thresholds.
The goal of this project is to develop and validate a coupled computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) and a computational analog of the sensor fish device.
Parallel to the computational work we conducted a set of experiments using
high-speed imaging to provide key data that will be used to correlate sensor
fish acceleration histories to the biological response of live fish. Using
these laboratory correlations, CFD, and the computational sensor fish analog
will provide a method to estimate biological response in turbulent flows.
Advanced Imaging (Contact: Tom Carlson 503-417-7562 or Russ Moursund
509-376-3251)
A major challenge towards evaluating the biological performance of operating
turbines is to determine the approach and interaction of fish with turbine
structural elements because these regions have high velocities, are highly
turbid, and difficult to access. This project addresses these issues with
a goal to identify and evaluate imaging alternatives for observing details
of fish behavior within an operating Kaplan turbine unit.
Sensor Fish Development (Contact: Tom Carlson 503-417-7562)
The sensor fish become an essential part of fish passage studies for identifying structural features and operating conditions deleterious to fish. For example, sensor fish were used extensively to investigate spill as a bypass alternative at mainstem Columbia River dams. As an element of studies conducted for the US Army Corps of Engineers to characterize conditions fish experience during turbine and spill passage, PNNL developed a particle tracker to be used with CFD simulations that emulates features of our current 3 DOF (three degree of freedom) sensor fish. This effort permitted identification of "signatures" in sensor fish pressure and acceleration time histories characteristic of passage by structural features such as baffle blocks in spill stilling basins. This technical breakthrough permits a complex environment like a turbine or spill stilling basin to be separated into discrete zones based on significant structural elements.
Effects of Multiple Dam Passage (Contact: Kenneth Ham 509-373-6142)
Survival of migratory juvenile salmonids passing through turbines at hydroelectric
dams is generally lower than for individuals passing via spill or bypass
routes. If surviving individuals fail to recover fully before subsequent
turbine passage events, they may survive at lower rates than unstressed
individuals. Thus, survival rates at individual hydropower dams may be linked
to what is happening upstream. A primary objective of this work is to assess
the potential for these cumulative effects to alter the survival of the
population as a whole. The approach we have taken is to simulate fish passing
the myriad potential passage trajectories in the Snake and Columbia River
system and assess their survival across a matrix of factor combinations.