Session A7 - Estimation of Turbine Passage Survival for Atlantic Salmon Entrained at Penobscot River Hydroelectric Projects
Location
UMass Amherst
Event Website
http://fishpassage.ecs.umass.edu/Conference2012/
Start Date
7-6-2012 10:50 AM
End Date
7-6-2012 11:10 AM
Description
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is in the process of developing a population model for endangered Atlantic salmon to assist in determining acceptable levels of incidental "take" at hydro projects on the Penobscot River in Maine. Salmon smolts and kelts migrating downstream will pass the project through a bypass (if available), over the spillway, or through the turbines. To assist with the assessment of overall project impacts, survival of smolts and kelts passing through each of 65 turbines installed at 15 Penobscot River dams was estimated. As the projects located within the basin are considered low head (<100 ft), the primary injury mechanism leading to mortality was assumed to be blade strike. Utilizing an established blade strike probability model and blade strike mortality test data, estimates of turbine passage survival associated with strike were developed for each turbine. Required turbine data associated with estimating strike survival included parameters such as runner diameter, rotational speed, number of blades, leading edge blade thickness, wicket gate angle, wicket gate trailing edge diameter, and wicket gate height. As some of this information was not always available from project owners, unknown turbine features were estimated using trends derived from available information on similar projects, as well as professional judgment. Turbine diameters ranged from about 2 to 16 ft, while the fish lengths evaluated ranged from 130 mm (about 5 inches) to 800 mm (about 31 inches). For some projects, the fish length evaluated was relatively large compared with the turbine diameter. Therefore, additional analysis was completed to estimate the impacts on survival associated with fish passing through narrow wicket gate openings and blade spacing. Final survival estimates for each turbine were completed over a range of flows and are a function of the strike probability analysis and the physical interactions with various turbine components.
Session A7 - Estimation of Turbine Passage Survival for Atlantic Salmon Entrained at Penobscot River Hydroelectric Projects
UMass Amherst
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is in the process of developing a population model for endangered Atlantic salmon to assist in determining acceptable levels of incidental "take" at hydro projects on the Penobscot River in Maine. Salmon smolts and kelts migrating downstream will pass the project through a bypass (if available), over the spillway, or through the turbines. To assist with the assessment of overall project impacts, survival of smolts and kelts passing through each of 65 turbines installed at 15 Penobscot River dams was estimated. As the projects located within the basin are considered low head (<100 >ft), the primary injury mechanism leading to mortality was assumed to be blade strike. Utilizing an established blade strike probability model and blade strike mortality test data, estimates of turbine passage survival associated with strike were developed for each turbine. Required turbine data associated with estimating strike survival included parameters such as runner diameter, rotational speed, number of blades, leading edge blade thickness, wicket gate angle, wicket gate trailing edge diameter, and wicket gate height. As some of this information was not always available from project owners, unknown turbine features were estimated using trends derived from available information on similar projects, as well as professional judgment. Turbine diameters ranged from about 2 to 16 ft, while the fish lengths evaluated ranged from 130 mm (about 5 inches) to 800 mm (about 31 inches). For some projects, the fish length evaluated was relatively large compared with the turbine diameter. Therefore, additional analysis was completed to estimate the impacts on survival associated with fish passing through narrow wicket gate openings and blade spacing. Final survival estimates for each turbine were completed over a range of flows and are a function of the strike probability analysis and the physical interactions with various turbine components.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/fishpassage_conference/2012/June7/4
Comments
Celeste N. Fay is a Project Engineer in the Environmental and Engineering Services Group at Alden Research Laboratory, Inc. She received her B.S. degree in civil engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2008. Ms. Fay, who has been working in the hydropower industry for the last nine years, is responsible for the conceptual design of fish passage and protection facilities and evaluations of turbine passage survival. Prior to working in the engineering field, Ms. Fay worked as a hydropower mechanic, providing a unique perspective on hydropower related evaluations.