Funding programme

Energy research (e!MISSION)

Project coordinator

• Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Markus Aufleger
  Department of Hydraulic Engineering, University of Innsbruck (UIBK)

Project partner

• Institute of Hydrobiology and Water Management (IHG), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

• Department of Applied Mechanics, Institute for Basic Research (UIBK)

• Company Albatros Engineering GmbH, Herzogsdorf

Employees

• DI Heidi Böttcher (Department of Hydraulic Engineering, UIBK)

• DI Bernhard Zeiringer (IHG, BOKU)

• DI Dr Günther Unfer (IHG, BOKU)

• Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Christoph Adam (AB Applied Mechanics, UIBK)

• DI Dr Franz-Josef Falkner (AB Applied Mechanics, UIBK)

• Franz Freund (Albatros Engineering GmbH)

• Stefan Wiesinger (Albatros Engineering GmbH)

• Herbert Pichler (Albatros Engineering GmbH)

Project duration

• 2 years, 04/2015 - 04/2017

Project description

Run-of-river power plants delay or prevent downstream migration of fish without appropriate measures for fish protection and downstream migration. In contrast to upstream migration, there is still a major lack of knowledge about functional measures for fish protection and downstream migration for native, potamodromous species. As part of an interdisciplinary research project funded by the FFG, a new concept for fish protection, the so-called rope screen, is currently being investigated with regard to its fish-biological effectiveness and its hydraulic and technical properties in hydropower operation.

In cooperation with the Institute of Hydrobiology and Water Management (IHG) at BOKU Vienna, behavioural studies on fish protection and guidance efficiency are being carried out on a 1:1 scale ethohydraulic section model at the IHG's HyTEC test facility in Lunz am See. In the first test phase, geometric parameters (rope spacing, screen inclination, bypass) and hydraulic parameters (inflow velocity) will be varied in order to analyse their influence on fish protection and downstream flow efficiency. In addition, the results will be used to gain more detailed insights into the migration and fish behaviour of native, potamodromous fish species at the barrier. In a second test phase, further investigations are planned in combination with an electrical scaring effect.

Furthermore, an in-depth investigation of the local hydraulic losses at the cable screen is currently being carried out. The influence of the screen geometry (bar shape, bar spacing and screen inclination) on the hydraulic losses for different hydraulic inflow situations was investigated using a physical model test in the hydraulic engineering laboratory of the Hydraulic Engineering Department at the University of Innsbruck. Furthermore, additional experiments should provide more detailed findings on the effect of rope vibrations and surface roughness as a characteristic feature of the rope screen.

The modelling of the vibration behaviour of the steel cables under the influence of the flow and the evaluation of possible effects on the supports of the structure are being carried out by the Applied Mechanics Department (UIBK). The rope and tensioning technology (support, tensioning mechanism, etc.) as well as the operational aspects (optimisation of screen cleaning, local hydraulic losses) of the rope screen are being investigated by the Hydraulic Engineering Department (UIBK) with the close involvement of the company Albatros Engineering GmbH. Finally, costs for various site requirements will be determined on the basis of the findings and compared and evaluated with comparable solutions for fish protection.