PNNL

Abstract

The objective of this study is to establish correlation metrics between Sensor Fish measurements and live fish injuries through well-controlled laboratory studies, and relate the findings of field studies and computational fluid dynamics modeling to the Sensor Fish measurements in the turbine environment. We exposed juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawythscha) and Sensor Fish devices to a laboratory-generated turbulent shear environment to determine whether observed biological responses could be linked to hydraulic conditions. Since its field trials in 1999, the Sensor Fish device has been an important tool to characterize the exposure conditions that fish experience during turbine, spillway, and other hydraulic environments. The live fish and Sensor Fish 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 simulated turbine-exposures include eye damage, opercle damage, bruising, loss of equilibrium, lethargy, and mortality. Digital video images were captured by two high-speed, high-resolution cameras. Advanced motion analysis was performed to obtain three-dimensional trajectories of Sensor Fish and juvenile salmon, from which time series of the velocity, acceleration, jerk, fish body bending, and force magnitudes were calculated. The motion is then correlated with live fish injury and mortality data and related kinematic/dynamic parameters. This study provides improved understanding of the location and dynamics of conditions deleterious to fish passage, and linkage between laboratory, field studies, and computational fluid dynamics simulations.