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Title: Evaluation of Fish-Injury Mechanisms During Exposure to Turbulent Shear Flow

Journal Article · · Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 62(7):1513–1522
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1139/f05-091· OSTI ID:15020562

Motion tracking analysis was performed on high-speed, high-resolution digital videos of juvenile salmonids exposed to a laboratory-generated shear environment to isolate injury mechanisms. Hatchery-reared fall chinook salmon (93-128 mm in length) were introduced into the top portion of a submerged, 6.35-cm diameter water jet at velocities ranging from 12.2 to 19.8 m•s-1, with a control group released at 3 m•s-1. Injuries typical of turbine passed fish, including eye damage, opercle damage, bruising, loss of equilibrium, lethargy, and mortality were observed and recorded. Three-dimensional trajectories were generated for four locations (nose, head, centroid, tail) on each fish released. Time series of velocity, acceleration, force, jerk, and bending angle were computed from the 3-dimensional trajectories of the centroid using finite-difference methods. The onset of minor, major and fatal injuries occurred at nozzle velocities of 12.2 13.7 and 16.8 m•s-1, respectively, corresponding to exposure strain rates of 683, 761, and 933 s-1. Opercle injuries occurred at 12.2 m•s-1 nozzle velocity, while eye injuries, bruising, and loss of equilibrium were common at speeds of 16.8 m•s-1 and above. Of the computed dynamic parameters, acceleration showed the strongest predictive power for eye and opercle injuries and overall injury level, and it may provide the best potential link between laboratory studies of fish injury, field studies designed to collect similar data in situ, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model output.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
15020562
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-42142; EB4402010; TRN: US0504627
Journal Information:
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 62(7):1513–1522, Vol. 62, Issue 7
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English