Abstract Fishways are hydraulic structures designed to dissipate the energy of flowing water in order to decrease water velocities and increase water depths. The history of fishways is long, the first written remarks date back to the 17th century. Fishway hydraulics, however, have been intensively studied only starting since the 1980's. Fishways have been classified into three main categories according to their hydraulic characteristics: pool-and-weir, vertical slot, and Denil fishways. Fishways are hydraulically complex structures, and thus designing tools for different fishway types have been developed. In this report, a new designing procedure has been established, and equations for each main fishway type have been suggested. In addition, flow conditions below different fishway types have been examined, and velocity distributions at weirs with V-shaped crests in both pool-and-weir fishways and at a single weir have been compared in different discharges and drops. Fishway flows have been compared with flows over single weirs.

Migrating freshwater fish population has been significantly declined, mostly by the obstruction of their migratory routes by hydropower dams. To diminish such impacts, fish ladders have been developed to facilitate the passage of migrating fish. However, fish ladders are associated with mortality and migratory failure, resulting in an ecological problem which has been a concern for years. The paper contained in the following pages focuses on studying the viability of an innovative modular design for a fish ladder developed by Fiskvägsteknik AB. The design is based in a vertical slot fishway (VSF) to which some roughness elements are attached to modify the flow. The aim of this bypass system is to restore the original biological continuity and diversity in the Swedish rivers, therefore solving a long-lasting ecological problem that hydroelectric production has caused over the years. Through a computational analysis, the flow has been evaluated as a function of the parameters that present an influence over its behaviour. First, a study of the changes in flow velocity influenced by four different slopes: 5 %, 10 %, 15 % and 20 %, has been performed with the objective to find an appropriate inclination according to the capabilities of the fish species considered. The lowest slopes have resulted to be the most appropriate ones, coinciding with low values of turbulent kinetic energy and lower flow velocities. The second step has been checking the effect of roughness elements on the bottom part of the structure tilted a 5%. The flow velocity has shown a considerable decrease, falling in the range of the fish swimming capabilities established. As for the streamlines of the flow, they were altered compared to the cases without the roughness elements.

Abstract Dam building for hydropower production, dredging for log floating and drainage of peatlands have massively affected migrating salmonid populations in Finland. Increased sedimentation and changes in hydraulic conditions have destroyed the majority of spawning and rearing habitats in freshwater brooks and dam building has stopped migration upstream at river mouths. This thesis examines the current state of drained forest brooks, possibilities for restoration and methods to assist migration in rivers used for hydropower. Drainage down to the mineral soil has caused massive erosion and sedimentation in headwater brooks. The surface layer of a sand bed is constantly moving, preventing vegetation growth, while shortcuts created during drainage increase flow velocity and reduce retention time. The cross-sectional and longitudinal profiles become homogeneous and biodiversity is severely reduced. A simple wooden brook restoration structure was developed in laboratory experiments. Fish migration problems past a hydropower dam and reproduction possibilities offered by a natural-like bypass channel were studied in the river Oulujoki, the mouth of which was blocked by a hydropower dam in the late 1940s. Public pressure for remedial structures has grown since then and was given a boost after a fishway was opened at Merikoski, in the river mouth, in 2003. This thesis examined the next dam upstream, Montta at Muhos, which was studied separately as a partial and sole natural-like bypass. A natural-like bypass can offer stable conditions for spawning and rearing and can be designed precisely, through water flow and habitat modelling, to match desired conditions. The most important section in a fishway is ultimately the entrance. Fishway discharge is often merely a fraction of whole river discharge and the attractivity of the entrance can be increased by pumping additional discharge to the lowest part of the fishway. The hydraulics of a twin-slot vertical slot fishway were studied here by laboratory flume testing and 2D water flow modelling. Water flow and habitat modelling proved to be good tools in designing partly natural-like bypasses. However, fish behaviour should be closely monitored in any natural-like fishways already built, in order to verify the results of habitat modelling. / Tiivistelmä Jokien patoaminen vesivoiman tuotantoon, ruoppaaminen puunuiton helpottamiseksi sekä latvapurojen ojitukset metsän kasvun edistämiseksi ovat voimakkaasti vaikuttaneet vaeltavien lohikalakantojen vaellus- ja lisääntymismahdollisuuksiin. Muuttuneet hydrauliset olosuhteet ja lisääntynyt sedimentaatio ovat tuhonneet lohikalojen lisääntymisalueet ja patoaminen on katkaissut ylösvaelluksen lisääntymispaikoille. Väitöstyö koostuu viidestä artikkelista, joissa esitellään uusia menetelmiä ja ratkaisuja lohikalojen vaelluksen ja lisääntymisen ennallistamiseksi. Kaksi artikkelia keskittyy ojituksesta kärsivien latvapurojen nykytilaan, kunnostusmahdollisuuksiin sekä kunnostusrakenteen kehittämiseen. Paikoin ojituksen seurauksena on ollut massiivinen mineraalimaan eroosio ja hienon hiekan sedimentoituminen puroihin. Puroihin on kertynyt paksuja hiekkakerroksia, joiden pintakerros on jatkuvassa liikkeessä. Pintakerroksen jatkuva liike estää kasvillisuuden kasvamisen. Osittain ojitus on myös oikaissut puroja, jolloin virtausnopeudet ovat kasvaneet ja veden viipymä lyhentynyt. Purojen pituus- ja poikkileikkauksen vaihtelu ja biodiversiteetti ovat on vähentyneet huomattavasti. Laboratoriokokeissa kehitettiin yksinkertainen puusta rakennettava kunnostusrakenne hiekoittuneiden purojen kunnostamiseksi. Kolme artikkelia käsittelee Oulujokea, kalateiden suunnittelua ja kalatierakenteita. Vuonna 2003 rakennettu Merikosken kalatie kasvatti paineita kalatierakentamiseen Oulujoen muille voimalaitoksille. Erityisesti väitöstyö keskittyi Montan voimalaitoksen ohitukseen suunniteltuun kalatiehen, jota tutkittiin virtausmallinnuksen avulla kokonaan ja osittain luonnonmukaisena ohitusuomana. Luonnonmukainen ohitusuoma voidaan suunnitella toimimaan kutukanavan tyyppisenä uomana, jonka tarkoitus on tarjota vakaat virtausolosuhteet lohikalojen lisääntymistä varten. Virtaus- ja habitaattimallinnuksen avulla uoma voidaan suunnitella tarkasti haluttujen virtausolosuhteiden mukaisesti. Kalatien toimivuuden kannalta tärkeintä on että kalat löytävät kalatien sisäänkäynnin. Kalatien virtaama on usein vain murto-osa koko joen virtaamasta, joten sisäänkäynnin houkuttavuutta voidaan lisätä lisävettä pumppaamalla. Kaksirakoisen pystyrakokalatien hydrauliikkaa tutkittiin sekä laboratorio- että virtausmallilla.

L'étude de l'écoulement turbulent au sein des passes à fentes verticales est nécessaire afin d'améliorer ces dispositifs de franchissement contenant des barrières physiques aux mouvements migratoires des poissons. En effet, les études menées sur les passes existantes ont montré leurs limites pour permettre le franchissement des petites espèces de poissons avec des faibles capacités de nage. L'objectif de notre étude est d'adapter l'écoulement turbulent dans la passe aux capacités de nage des poissons. Des mesures de vitesse bidimensionnelle par Vélocimétrie par Imagerie de Particules (PIV) et les mesures de vitesse tridimensionnelle par Vélocimétrie Acoustique par effet Doppler (ADV) ont montré que les grandeurs cinématiques de l'écoulement au sein des passes existantes sont très importantes et donc affectent les capacités de nages des petites espèces de poissons. Une des stratégies pour répondre à ce problème est d'introduire des obstacles de forme cylindrique au sein des bassins de la passe à poissons. L'insertion de ces cylindres a pour objectif de réduire les quantités cinématiques de l'écoulement turbulent au sein de la passe afin d'adapter cet ouvrage au passage des petites espèces de poissons. Cette stratégie nécessite une méthode d'optimisation afin de trouver l'emplacement idéal des cylindres à partir de simulations numériques de l'écoulement (logiciel Star-CD). / The turbulent flow study in vertical slot fishway is necessary to improve this crossing device containing physical barriers to fish migration. Effectively, studies of existing fishways have shown their limits to ensure the crossing of small fish species with weak swimming abilities. The objective of our study is to adapt the turbulent flow to the fish species swimming abilities. The two-dimensional velocity measurements by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and three-dimensional velocity measurements by Doppler Velocimetry Acoustics (ADV) have shown that the flow kinematic quantities within the existing fishways are very important next to the small fish species capacities. One of strategies to answer at this problem is to introduce obstacles with cylindrical shape in the fishways pools. The adjunction of cylinders is intended to reduce the kinematics quantities of the turbulent flow within the fishways in order to adapt this hydraulic structure to the passage of small fish species. This strategy requires an optimization method to find the ideal location of the cylinders from numerical simulations of the flow (Star-CD code).

L'objectif de cette thèse est de caractériser l'influence de la présence d'obstacles dans les passes à poissons à fentes verticales. Deux types d'éléments sont couramment insérés, à l'heure actuelle, dans les passes : les seuils et les macro-rugosités. Dans un premier temps, l'effet de ces deux dispositifs à la fois sur l'écoulement et sur le comportement des poissons est étudié. Dans le but de favoriser le passage des petites espèces à travers le dispositif de franchissement, une solution technique est ensuite proposée, sous la forme de plusieurs rangées de cylindres flexibles placées en sortie de fente. La caractérisation du comportement hydraulique d'une passe à poissons équipée de ces obstacles est effectuée par des mesures expérimentales de niveau d'eau à l'aide de sondes acoustiques et des mesures de vitesses tridimensionnelles avec un vélocimètre acoustique à effet Doppler (ADV). La base de données générée par ces mesures est ensuite utilisée pour définir une loi de dimensionnement, qui prend en compte les paramètres influençant le fonctionnement hydraulique de l'ouvrage en vue d'améliorer sa conception. Les simulations numériques 3D instationnaires URANS et LES de l'écoulement permettent une analyse volumique fine des grandeurs caractéristiques de la turbulence qui règne dans les bassins en fonction du type d'obstacle inséré. En obstruant une partie de la fente, la présence d'un seuil accentue la tridimensionnalité de l'écoulement tandis que les macro-rugosités créent une zone de plus faible vitesses et des abris utilisables par les espèces de fonds. L'insertion des structures souples permet une meilleure dissipation de l'énergie du jet et réduit l'énergie cinétique turbulente dans une partie du volume des bassins. Les manipulations réalisées avec différentes espèces de poissons, permettent de mieux comprendre l'effet de la modification des grandeurs cinématiques de l'écoulement, par l'insertion d'obstacles, sur le comportement des poissons pour pouvoir adapter les passes à poissons existantes aux espèces dotées de faibles capacités de nage. / The aim of this work is to characterize the influence of two kinds of obstacles, sills and macro-roughnesses, on the flow inside a vertical slot fishway (VSF) and the behavior of several species of fish. Another objective is to study a technical solution to allow the passage of small fish species, which take the form of flexible cylinders placed in the jet at the entrance of each pool of the VSF. A hydraulic characterization is made by experimental measurements of the water level in each pool with acoustic sensors and by measurements of three-dimensional velocity components with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV). The data acquired by these measurements are then used to define a predictive law that takes into account the presence of sills or macro-roughnesses, to help the design of devices that are as efficient as possible. Unsteady RANS and LES three-dimensional numerical simulations of the flow allow performing a careful volume analysis of the turbulence characteristics inside the pools when obstacles are presents in the flow. By obstructing a part of the slot, sills enhance the three-dimensionality of the flow while macro-roughnesses generate a low velocity layer and shelters for benthic species. Flexible elements produce a better dissipation of the energy of the jet and reduce the turbulent kinetic energy in a part of the volume of the pools. The effect of the modification of the flow kinematic properties, by the presence of obstacles, on the behavior of various fish species is evaluated. It provides important insights on how to adapt the flow in existing fishways to fish species with low swimming capacity.