Session B2: Improvement of Computational Tools for Biological Performance Assessment of Hydroelectric Turbines
Location
Groningen, The Netherlands
Event Website
http://fishpassage.umass.edu/
Start Date
22-6-2015 2:00 PM
End Date
22-6-2015 2:15 PM
Description
Abstract:
The technical evaluation of fish passage conditions is becoming an integral part of projects to install new or replace existing hydroelectric turbine units. In the design phase, these evaluations depend on laboratory and computational modeling techniques that simulate prototype conditions. For instance, laboratory experiments with beads have yielded observational data on collision occurrence and frequency in turbine physical models. On the computational model side, simulations have been used to assess hydraulic conditions hazardous to fish passage such as rapid decompression, extreme shear flow, and likelihood of collision on turbine runner blades. The present work expands on the previous modeling studies of biological performance assessment at projects in the Columbia River Basin, in the U.S.
Pacific Northwest. The preceding studies have laid the groundwork for the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in biological assessment of turbine passage. This presentation describes continued work by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (funded by US Department of Energy) to improve its biological performance assessment (BioPA) software and to test the model against field observations. Specifically, two model enhancements will be discussed: (1) the generation of multiple passage pathways through the turbine to account for turbulent dispersion in BioPA, and (2) the implementation of overset (moving) mesh simulations to better account for the actual motion of fish and autonomous sensor devices. We incorporated these recent developments into the BioPA for an existing Kaplan turbine unit installed at the Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River. Autonomous sensor devices were used in past field studies to evaluate the hydraulic conditions when the unit operated at three discharges. We calculate and compare statistics from both the field data and BioPA modeling results to assess the accuracy of the simulation model and its assumptions. Specifically, we compare signatures of absolute pressure and probability of collision with the runner blades.
Session B2: Improvement of Computational Tools for Biological Performance Assessment of Hydroelectric Turbines
Groningen, The Netherlands
Abstract:
The technical evaluation of fish passage conditions is becoming an integral part of projects to install new or replace existing hydroelectric turbine units. In the design phase, these evaluations depend on laboratory and computational modeling techniques that simulate prototype conditions. For instance, laboratory experiments with beads have yielded observational data on collision occurrence and frequency in turbine physical models. On the computational model side, simulations have been used to assess hydraulic conditions hazardous to fish passage such as rapid decompression, extreme shear flow, and likelihood of collision on turbine runner blades. The present work expands on the previous modeling studies of biological performance assessment at projects in the Columbia River Basin, in the U.S.
Pacific Northwest. The preceding studies have laid the groundwork for the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in biological assessment of turbine passage. This presentation describes continued work by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (funded by US Department of Energy) to improve its biological performance assessment (BioPA) software and to test the model against field observations. Specifically, two model enhancements will be discussed: (1) the generation of multiple passage pathways through the turbine to account for turbulent dispersion in BioPA, and (2) the implementation of overset (moving) mesh simulations to better account for the actual motion of fish and autonomous sensor devices. We incorporated these recent developments into the BioPA for an existing Kaplan turbine unit installed at the Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River. Autonomous sensor devices were used in past field studies to evaluate the hydraulic conditions when the unit operated at three discharges. We calculate and compare statistics from both the field data and BioPA modeling results to assess the accuracy of the simulation model and its assumptions. Specifically, we compare signatures of absolute pressure and probability of collision with the runner blades.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/fishpassage_conference/2015/June22/94
Comments
Presenting Author Bio: Dr. Richmond is a Chief Engineer in the Hydrology Group. His professional experience includes basic and applied research, university teaching, and project management. His principal areas of expertise are in the development and application of computational models of hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and contaminant transport in environmental systems, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), physical modeling of hydraulic structures, fisheries engineering, and turbulence modeling in CFD. Dr. Richmond is the developer of the MASS1 (Modular Aquatic Simulation System) one-dimensional and MASS2 two-dimensional hydrodynamics and water quality computer models. He is the co-developer of an individual model for fish called FINS (Fish Individual-based Numerical Simulator). He is currently leading the development of a three-dimensional CFD model for engineered and environmental systems.