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"
- BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)
- ORNL
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 and under less severe conditions where pressure changes were minimized. 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. 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 and under less severe conditions where pressure changes were minimized. 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. Both fish species were acclimated for 16-22 hours at either surface (101 kPa; 1 atm) or 30 ft (191 kPa; 1.9 atm) of pressure in a hyperbaric chamber before exposure to a pressure scenario simulating passage through a horizontal bulb turbine. The simulation was as follows: gradual pressure increase to about 2 atm of pressure, followed by a sudden (0.4 second) decrease in pressure to either 0.7 or 0.95 atm, followed by gradual return to 1 atm (surface water pressure). Following the exposure, fish were held at surface pressure for a 48-hour post exposure observation period. No fall chinook salmon died during or after exposure to the horizontal bulb turbine passage pressures, and no injuries were observed during the 48-hour post exposure observation period. As with the previous test series, it cannot be determined whether fall chinook salmon acclimated to the greater water pressure during the pretest holding period. For bluegill sunfish exposed to the horizontal bulb turbine turbine-passage pressures, only one fish died and injuries were less severe and less common than for bluegills subjected to either the"worst case" pressure or modified Kaplan turbine pressure conditions in previous tests. Injury rates for bluegills were higher at 0.7 atm nadir than for the 0.95 atm nadir. However, injuries were limited to minor internal hemorrhaging. Bluegills did not suffer swim bladder rupture in any tested scenarios. 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:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 15004163
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-13470-B; 820101000; TRN: US201015%%386
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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