Fish passage through a simulated horizontal bulb turbine pressure regime: A supplement to "Laboratory Studies of the Effects of Pressure and Dissolved Gas Supersaturation on Turbine-Passed Fish"
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Migratory and resident fish in the Columbia River Basin are exposed to stresses associated with hydroelectric power production, including pressure changes during turbine passage. The responses of fall chinook salmon and bluegill sunfish to rapid pressure change was investigated at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Previous test series evaluated the effects of passage through a vertical Kaplan turbine under the “worst case” pressure conditions (Abernethy et al. 2001) and under less severe conditions where pressure changes were minimized (Abernethy et al. 2002). For this series of tests, pressure changes were modified to simulate passage through a horizontal bulb turbine, commonly installed at low-head dams. The results were compared to results from previous test series. Tests indicated that for most of the cross-sectional area of a horizontal bulb turbine, pressure changes occurring during turbine passage are not harmful to fall chinook salmon and only minimally harmful to bluegill. However, some areas within a horizontal bulb turbine may have extreme pressure conditions that would be harmful to fish. These scenarios were not tested because they represent a small cross-sectional area of the turbine compared to the centerline pressures scenarios used in these tests.
- Research Organization:
- EERE Publication and Product Library, Washington, D.C. (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wind and Water Technologies Office (EE-4W)
- OSTI ID:
- 1218146
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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