APRIL 2021

INTRODUCING HYDROPASSAGE'S RAJESH SINGH

Rajesh Singh has more than 15 years of research experience using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to solve complex engineering and scientific problems. He began conducting hydropower-specific research at hydropower projects in India in 2002. For the last three years, Rajesh, a mechanical engineer with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has worked in hydraulics, fluid mechanics, turbulent flows, multiphase flows, and computational fluid dynamics. 

His expertise in CFD led to his role leading HydroPASSAGE’s Biological Performance Assessment (BioPA) toolset. BioPA allows hydropower owners, operators, and turbine manufacturers to identify potential risks and physical stressors that may affect the survival of fish near hydropower turbines. The design and operation of turbines can be improved by relating CFD modeling of hydraulic conditions to known adverse effects to fish. 

“The beauty of BioPA is that it can be used during the early turbine design stage so manufacturers can see the biological conditions and the hydraulic stressors,” Rajesh explains. “This allows ecological impacts to be minimized, improving fish passage from the start.” 

Rajesh developed and is leading customized virtual workshops for potential users of BioPA to provide hands-on experience with the toolset. Interested stakeholders can obtain a free 30-day trial license if they participate in a workshop for BioPA or the Hydropower Biological Evaluation Toolset (HBET). Workshops are designed in a modular form, starting with how to use the toolsets and moving to more complex instructions for specific aspects of the application where the user would like more training.  

To inquire about the trial license and to sign up for a workshop, email hydropassage@pnnl.gov. 

HYDROPASSAGE TEAM PUBLISHES VALIDATION REPORT

The HydroPASSAGE technical team recently published a report on BioPA, demonstrating the tool’s multifaceted, cost-effective use for comparing turbine designs, enhancing fish passage, and improving hydropower facilities and operations. The validation report concludes that a more sustainable hydropower fleet can be successfully achieved by comparing and minimizing fish stressors with BioPA. 

The researchers tested the recent version of BioPA by combining particle trajectories and stressors computed from CFD simulations with laboratory-developed biological response models to predict the probabilities of exposure to stressors for fish passing through hydropower facilities. The validation showed that the updated BioPA is suitable for simulating the passage of particles through hydroelectric facilities and turbines. The validation also confirmed that the updated BioPA eliminates the need for post-processing software. 

After the validation of various cases and scenarios for collisions and strikes, BioPA was modified to accept direct outputs of CFD collision and strike predictions. This allows the latest version to be used to evaluate the biological performance of turbines. Read the report here.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT BIOPA

What software do I need to use BioPA? 

BioPA requires a CFD code (e.g., STAR-CCM+, Ansys Fluent, Ansys CFX, Open FOAM) and Excel. 

How do BioPA, Sensor Fish, and HBET all fit together? 

BioPA and HBET integrate hydraulic conditions collected via computational modeling (BioPA) and lab- or field-based data collection (HBET) with known fish impact information to compare the biological performance of hydropower turbines and/or operating conditions. Sensor Fish are autonomous devices that can be deployed into turbine units to collect hydraulic condition response information that can be integrated into HBET. 

How do you collect information about fish susceptibility to turbine stressors? 

Information about fish susceptibility to turbine stressors is collected through empirical studies that expose fish to known stressors and measure the response (e.g., mortality, injury). The HydroPASSAGE team performs laboratory-based studies on the effects of rapid decompression, fluid shear, and blade strike on priority species. Fish susceptibility information is also collected from relevant scientific literature. Read more about these projects here. 

Read more FAQs here.

The HydroPASSAGE project is a research and development collaboration between engineers and biologists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest and Oak Ridge National Laboratories that is finding solutions to improve downstream fish passage conditions through turbines and other hydropower structures. Learn more at hydropassage.org.