Maurizio Righetti

Flow resistance in open channel flows with sparsely distributed bushes

The paper faces the problem of the resistance due to vegetation in a river characterized by fully submerged vegetation formed by concentrated colonies of bushes. The flow presents strong spatial variations between plants that make unreliable the traditional approach based on time averaging of turbulent fluctuations. A more useful model, based on time and spatial averaging is proposed. In the paper the necessary closure hypotheses are also discussed. The vertical distribution of mean velocity and turbulence stress have been measured with laser Doppler anemometry techniques, by means of spatial and time-averaging rules. Based on the double-averaged velocity and Reynolds stress profiles, an analytical two-layer model is proposed, in order to describe uniform flow conditions in the whole flow depth. Theoretical results are compared with the results of a series of experimental tests carried out in a laboratory flume.

Effects of artificial hypolimnetic oxygenation in a shallow lake. Part 1: phenomenological description and management.

Artificial oxygenation is a common management technique for lake restoration, but the use of hypolimnetic aeration in shallow basins can have dramatic effects on the dynamics of thermal stratification. This study presents the results of extensive field measurements performed in Lake Serraia (Trentino, Italy) after the installation of a Side Stream Pumping System, whereby oxygen-rich water is injected through 24 jets, uniformly distributed along an octagonal-shaped pipe at approximately 1 m above the sediment floor (10 m in depth). The lake is characterised by an average depth of 7 m, a volume of 3.1 × 10(6) m(3) and a residence time of about one year. Prior to the installation of the pumping system, the undisturbed hypolimnion thickness during summer stratification was relatively small. After the start of oxygen injection (up to 0.5 m(3)/s of oxygen-saturated water), an increase of in-lake temperature over the entire water column was noted with a maximum hypolimnetic temperature increase of up to 9 °C. The analysis of the flow field data and the results of numerical simulations (presented in the companion paper), indicate that the jets were solely responsible for the observed increase in temperature. Moreover, this study shows that modelling efforts are useful to provide guidelines for optimising contrasting needs (e.g., increase in oxygen supply versus jet discharge rate).

Hydropeaking mitigation project on a multi-purpose hydro-scheme on Valsura River in South Tyrol/Italy.

A hydropeaking mitigation project on Valsura River in the Italians Alps is described. The project is of particular interest due to several aspects. First of all, the Valsura torrent has unique morphological braiding characteristics, which are unique in the reach of Adige valley between Merano and Bolzano, and has a good reproduction potential for fish, especially in the terminal stretch along a biotope before its confluence with Adige River. Moreover, the Valsura hydropower cascade, which overall consists of six high-head hydropower plants, has an exceptional economic importance for the local hydropower industry. Lastly, the last HPP on the cascade is a multipurpose plant, so that interesting interactions between hydropeaking mitigation, irrigation supply and peak energy production are considered. The project started from a hydrological and a limnological measuring campaign and from an energetic, hydraulic and legislative framework analysis. The ecological findings are combined into a deficit analysis, founding the basis for the definition of a hydrological target state, which points to achieve a good natural reproduction for brown trout in the hydropeaked stretch, fulfilling at the same time the human safety conditions. Finally, mitigation Measures are described that at the same time comply with the following manifold aspects: a. maintenance of the requested target limits for fish reproduction; b. maintenance of the water release for the agricultural irrigation; c. enhancement of the flexibility of the hydropower plants operation; d. reduction of the risk for local population. The paper compares operational and constructive mitigation measures and shows that constructive hydropeaking mitigation measures, for the present case study, can combine the positive effects of ecological improvement with higher safety standards and more flexible energy production.

The role of 3D-hydraulics in habitat modelling of hydropeaking events

One way to study ecological implications induced by hydropeaking represents the coupling of hydrodynamic models with habitat suitability models, in which hydrodynamic parameters are typically used to describe the physical habitat of indicator species. This article discusses the differences in habitat suitability assessment between 2D and 3D CFD modelling as input for the habitat simulation tool CASiMiR. In the first part of the article, the accuracy of the hydraulic model is evaluated by comparing the model results with laboratory (model of a laboratory channel with erodible bed) and field measurements (Valsura River, Bolzano, Italy). In the second part, the habitat suitability for the Valsura River case study (affected by hydropeaking), is analyzed comparing different approaches for the reconstruction of the velocity field (depth-averaged velocities from 2D modelling, bottom velocity field reconstruction with log-law approach from 2D modelling and bottom velocity field from 3D modelling). The results show that the habitat suitability index (HSI) using 2D or 3D hydrodynamic models can be significantly different. These differences can be ascribed to a higher capability to depict the features of the flow field with highly variable and heterogeneous boundary conditions and to the possibility to simulate the near bed hydrodynamic parameters, which are relevant for certain target species. In particular, the HSI-values using 3D hydraulics lead to larger areas of highly suitable habitats compared to 2D simulations. Moreover, considering the entire flow range of hydropeaking events, the habitat simulations with bottom flow velocities from 3D modelling provide suitable habitats over the entire flow range representing the availability of stable suitable habitats, while the habitat availability of 2D modelled flow velocity is continuously decreasing with increasing flow rates.