John A. Serkowski

Pore-Scale and Multiscale Numerical Simulation of Flow and Transport in a Laboratory-Scale Column

Pore-scale models are useful for studying relationships between fundamental processes and phenomena at larger (i.e., Darcy) scales. However, the size of domains that can be simulated with explicit pore-scale resolution is limited by computational and observational constraints. Direct numerical simulation of pore-scale flow and transport is typically performed on millimeter-scale volumes at which X-ray computed tomography (XCT), often used to characterize pore geometry, can achieve micrometer resolution. In contrast, laboratory experiments that measure continuum properties are typically performed on decimeter-scale columns. At this scale, XCT resolution is coarse (tens to hundreds of micrometers) and prohibits characterization of small pores and grains. We performed simulations of pore-scale processes over a decimeter-scale volume of natural porous media with a wide range of grain sizes, and compared to results of column experiments using the same sample. Simulations were conducted using high-performance codes executed on a supercomputer. Two approaches to XCT image segmentation were evaluated, a binary (pores and solids) segmentation and a ternary segmentation that resolved a third category (porous solids with pores smaller than the imaged resolution). We used a multiscale Stokes-Darcy simulation method to simulate the combination of Stokes flow in large open pores and Darcy-like flow in porous solid regions. Flow and transport simulations based on the binary segmentation were inconsistent with experimental observations because of overestimation of large connected pores. Simulations based on the ternary segmentation provided results that were consistent with experimental observations, demonstrating our ability to successfully model pore-scale flow over a column-scale domain.

Hydroacoustic Evaluation of Juvenile Salmonid Passage at The Dalles Dam in 2004

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District engaged the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to evaluate juvenile salmon passage at The Dalles Dam in 2004 to inform decisions about long-term measures and operations to enhance sluiceway and spill passage and reduce turbine passage to improve smolt survival at the dam. PNNL used fixed-location hydroacoustic sampling across the entire project, especially at the sluiceway and spillway, using multiple split-beam transducers at selected locations. At the sluiceway nearfield, we used an acoustic camera to track fish. The fish data were interpreted and integrated with hydraulic data from a CFD model and in-field ADCP measurements. Two sluiceway operations were compared: West only (SL 1) vs. West+East (SL 1 + SL 18). Based on our findings, we concluded that The Dalles Dam sluiceway has the potential to be highly efficient and effective at passing juvenile salmonids. This potential could be tapped with hydraulic and entrance enhancements to the sluiceway. We recommended the following: (1) six rather than three sluice gates should be opened to take advantage of the maximum hydraulic capacity of the sluiceway. (2) The turbine units below open sluice gates should be operated as a standard fish operations procedure. (3) In 2005, the Corps and fisheries agencies should consider operating sluice gates in one or more of the following combinations of six gates: (a) SL 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 and SL 18-1, 18-2, 18-3 (repeat 2004 operation), (b) SL 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 and SL 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, or (c) SL 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 and SL 2-1, 2-2, 2-3. The following elements for surface flow bypasses which should be considered during design of any sluiceway enhancements at The Dalles Dam: (1) form an extensive surface flow bypass flow net (surface bypass discharge greater than {approx}7% of total project discharge), (2) create a gradual increase in water velocity approaching the surface flow bypass (ideally, acceleration 3 m/s) to entrain the subject juvenile fishes, (4) adapt the shape and orientation of the surface entrance(s) to fit site-specific features, and (5) consider installing a forebay wall to increase fish availability to the surface flow bypass.

Smolt Responses to Hydrodynamic Conditions in Forebay Flow Nets of Surface Flow Outlets, 2007

This study provides information on juvenile salmonid behaviors at McNary and The Dalles dams that can be used by the USACE, fisheries resource managers, and others to support decisions on long-term measures to enhance fish passage. We researched smolt movements and ambient hydrodynamic conditions using a new approach combining simultaneous acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and acoustic imaging device (AID) measurements at surface flow outlets (SFO) at McNary and The Dalles dams on the Columbia River during spring and summer 2007. Because swimming effort vectors could be computed from the simultaneous fish and flow data, fish behavior could be categorized as passive, swimming against the flow (positively rheotactic), and swimming with the flow (negatively rheotactic). We present bivariate relationships to provide insight into fish responses to particular hydraulic variables that engineers might consider during SFO design. The data indicate potential for this empirical approach of simultaneous water/fish measurements to lead to SFO design guidelines in the future.

Simulating Collisions for Hydrokinetic Turbines. FY2010 Annual Progress Report

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of turbulent flow and particle motion are being conducted to evaluate the frequency and severity of collisions between marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy devices and debris or aquatic organisms. The work is part of a collaborative research project between Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Sandia National Laboratories , funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Wind and Water Power Program. During FY2010 a reference design for an axial flow MHK turbine was used to develop a computational geometry for inclusion into a CFD model. Unsteady simulations of turbulent flow and the moving MHK turbine blades are being performed and the results used for simulation of particle trajectories. Preliminary results and plans for future work are presented.

Characterizing the Fish Passage Environment at The Dalles Dam Spillway: 2001-2004

The spill environment at The Dalles Dam in 2001-2004 was characterized using a field-deployed autonomous sensor (the so-called Sensor Fish), computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling, and Lagrangian particle tracking. The sensor fish has a self-contained capability to digitally the record pressure and triaxial accelerations it was exposed to following its release into the spillway. After recovery downstream of the tailrace, the data stored in the memory of the sensor are downloaded and stored for analysis. The spillway, stilling basin, and tailrace hydrodynamics were simulated using an unsteady, free-surface, three-dimensional CFD code that solved the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations in conjunction with a two-equation turbulence model. The results from the CFD simulations were then used in a Lagrangian particle tracking model that included the effects of mass, drag, and buoyancy in the particle equation of motion. A random walk method was used to simulate the effects of small-scale turbulence on the particle motion. Several operational and structural conditions were evaluated using the Sensor Fish, CFD, and particle tracking. Quantifying events such as strike and stilling basin retention time characterized exposure conditions in the spill environment.

Forebay Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling for The Dalles Dam to Support Vortex Suppress Device Studies

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was used in an investigation into the suppression of a surface vortex that forms and the south-most spilling bay at The Dalles Project. The CFD work complemented work at the prototype and the reduced-scale physical models. The CFD model was based on a model developed for other work in the forebay but had additional resolution added near the spillway. Vortex suppression devices (VSDs) were to placed between pier noses and/or in the bulkhead slot of the spillway bays. The simulations in this study showed that placing VSD structures or a combination of structures to suppress the vortex would still result in near-surface flows to be entrained in a vortex near the downstream spillwall. These results were supported by physical model and prototype studies. However, there was a consensus of the fish biologists at the physical model that the fish would most likely move north and if the fish went under the VSD it would immediately exit the forebay through the tainter gate and not get trapped between VSDs or the VSDs and the tainter gate if the VSDs were deep enough.

Comparative Study of Barotrauma Risk during Fish Passage through Kaplan Turbines

....................................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................................................................v Acronyms and Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... vii 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................1 2.0 The Biological Performance Assessment Method .................................................................................3 2.1 BioPA Assumptions ......................................................................................................................4 3.0 Wanapum Dam ......................................................................................................................................5 4.0 The Sensor Fish .....................................................................................................................................5 5.0 Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations .........................................................................................7 6.0 Streamtrace Seeding and Seed Weighting .............................................................................................9 7.0 Results and Discussion ........................................................................................................................12 8.0 Summary and Conclusions ..................................................................................................................21 9.0 References ............................................................................................................................................24

The Oncor Geodatabase for the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program: Handbook of Data Reduction Procedures, Workbooks, and Exchange Templates

This Handbook of Data Reduction Procedures, Workbooks, and Exchange Templates is designed to support the Oncor geodatabase for the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program (CEERP). The following data categories are covered: water-surface elevation and temperature, sediment accretion rate, photo points, herbaceous wetland vegetation cover, tree plots and site summaries, fish catch and density, fish size, fish diet, fish prey, and Chinook salmon genetic stock identification. The handbook is intended for use by scientists collecting monitoring and research data for the CEERP. The ultimate goal of Oncor is to provide quality, easily accessible, geospatial data for synthesis and evaluation of the collective performance of CEERP ecosystem restoration actions at a program scale.

The Oncor Geodatabase for the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program: Annual Report, 2012

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted this project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (Corps). The purpose of the project is to develop a geospatial, web-accessible database (called “Oncor”) for action effectiveness and related data from monitoring and research efforts for the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program (CEERP). The intent is for the Oncor database to enable synthesis and evaluation, the results of which can then be applied in subsequent CEERP decision-making. This is the first annual report in what is expected to be a 3- to 4-year project, which commenced on February 14, 2012.

Technical Review of the CENWP Computational Fluid Dynamics Model of the John Day Dam Forebay

The US Army Corps of Engineers Portland District (CENWP) has developed a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the John Day forebay on the Columbia River to aid in the development and design of alternatives to improve juvenile salmon passage at the John Day Project. At the request of CENWP, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Hydrology Group has conducted a technical review of CENWPs CFD model run in CFD solver software, STAR-CD. PNNL has extensive experience developing and applying 3D CFD models run in STAR-CD for Columbia River hydroelectric projects. The John Day forebay model developed by CENWP is adequately configured and validated. The model is ready for use simulating forebay hydraulics for structural and operational alternatives. The approach and method are sound, however CENWP has identified some improvements that need to be made for future models and for modifications to this existing model.