Hydropeaking indicators for characterization of the Upper-Rhone River in Switzerland

River channelization and the construction of high-head storage schemes have been the basis of agricultural and socio-economic development in many alpine regions. One example is the Upper-Rhone River in Switzerland. The Upper-Rhone's morphology changed considerably between 1863 and 1960 as a result of two major channelizations and, from 1950 on, the construction of a large number of high-head storage hydropower schemes in the catchment. These modifications have brought large benefits to the local population, at the cost, however, of substantial disturbances in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in and along the river. A primary factor behind these disturbances is the alteration of the natural flow regime, namely hydropeaking due to the operation of the high-head storage hydropower plants. For sustainable river-restoration projects on regulated rivers, scientists and engineers now widely accept the necessity of integrated management of the river. Different aspects such as river morphology, sediment management, water quality, temperature, and the naturally variable flow regime should be considered simultaneously. Mitigation of non-natural, sub-daily flow fluctuations due to hydropeaking is a crucial step in restoring natural flow regimes, but is especially challenging due to the economic constraints such mitigation places upon hydropower plants. With the goal of addressing this challenge, this paper proposes three indicators to describe the flow regime of rivers in alpine catchments with and without high-head storage hydropower plants. The indicators quantify: (1) the seasonal distribution and transfer of water, (2) sub-daily flow fluctuations, and (3) the intensity and frequency of flow changes. Indicators are evaluated in a case study of the Upper-Rhone River for pre- and post-impact situations, and the benefit of a multipurpose project reducing hydropeaking on hydrologic conditions is quantified. Furthermore, the paper explores the possibility of using these indicators to link aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem well being to their hydrolog

Born-Infeld Theory and Stringy Causality

Fluctuations around a non-trivial solution of Born-Infeld theory have a limiting speed given not by the Einstein metric but the Boillat metric. The Boillat metric is S-duality invariant and conformal to the open string metric. It also governs the propagation of scalars and spinors in Born-Infeld theory. We discuss the potential clash between causality determined by the closed string and open string light cones and find that the latter never lie outside the former. Both cones touch along the principal null directions of the background Born-Infeld field. We consider black hole solutions in situations in which the distinction between bulk and brane is not sharp such as space filling branes and find that the location of the event horizon and the thermodynamic properties do not depend on whether one uses the closed or open string metric. Analogous statements hold in the more general context of non-linear electrodynamics or effective quantum-corrected metrics. We show how Born-Infeld action to second order might be obtained from higher-curvature gravity in Kaluza-Klein theory. Finally we point out some intriguing analogies with Einstein-Schr\"odinger theory.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figures, LaTex; Some comments and references adde

Entrainment of floating granules behind a barrier

To simulate the retaining capacity of an oil barrier in an uniform flow field, experiments were carried out in a laboratory flume at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions (LCH) by using Light Expanded Clay Aggregates (LECA) and plastic particles. It was demonstrated that under appropriate assumptions for the effects of buoyancy and gravity forces, the Shields approach is suitable to predict both the entrainment of suspended granules behind a barrier and the start of leakage underneath. The phenomenon was also simulated numerically with a multiphase model using a CFD code, Fluent, and the results were compared to those of the physical experiments. The "Eulerian model" multiphase model of FLUENT was selected to simulate the phenomenon. The numerical model successfully predicts the evolution of the slick shape behind the barrier for various flow conditions. The amount of LECA that leaked from the barrier agreed well with the experimental observations

Prediction of interaction between a side overflow and bed-load transport in a channel with semi-empirical approaches

Les seuils a deversoir lateral sont des structures de controle et de detournement a ecoulement libre regulierement utilisees en ingenierie de lutte contre les inondations. La perte laterale d'eau permet de reduire la capacite de transport de la charge de fond dans le chenal principal, engendrant ainsi une deposition locale des sediments pres du deversoir lateral. Le debordement servant aux calculs est donc augmente de maniere non controlee. Des experiences systematiques de canal sur appuis ont ete realisees puisque cette interaction ecoulement-sediments dans un tel canal n'avait jamais ete etudiee. Base sur ces experiences, un modele empirique bidimensionnel a ete developpe afin de decrire l'evolution longitudinale de la portion du canal alluvial a proximite du deversoir. De plus, une approche simple et explicite d'estimation directe de l'ecoulement lateral avec transport de la charge de fond a ete determinee. Pour etre applicables a l'ingenierie, les variables d'entree sont exprimees en termes de parametres sans dimensions. Finalement, l'utilisation des modeles est demontree sur une etude de cas du Rhone en Suisse

Attractiveness of a lateral shelter in a channel as a refuge for juvenile brown trout during hydropeaking

Peak power production in hydroelectric storage power plants results in frequent and intense flow variations in the rivers downstream of the plants. Fish populations can be negatively impacted when subjected to these so-called hydropeaking phenomena. In researching mitigation solutions, shelters in the riverbanks of channelized rivers have been identified as a means of protecting fish from excessive flow velocities. These shelters were studied systematically using juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) in an experimental configuration in which a straight channel was equipped with a lateral embayment. The purpose of the experiments was to generate hydrodynamic hydropeaking conditions in the channel that are undesirable for juvenile trout, thereby causing them to enter the shelter. The flow velocity distribution in the intersection plane between the main channel and the lateral shelter was found to be a significant parameter for attracting fish to the shelter. The utilization rate of trout in the shelter was used as a performance indicator. Using a basic rectangular shelter configuration without forced water exchange between the shelter and the channel, the utilization rate was only 35%. This rate was more than doubled by introducing a deviation groyne to force water exchange between the channel and the shelter. The position and orientation angle of this groyne were systematically varied to maximize the utilization rate. Maximum utilization rates approaching 90% were obtained for an optimum configuration in which an island-type groyne was placed in the shelter. The results of the systematic channel tests showed the potential of the shelter to attract fish. Such a shelter could be used in channelized rivers both for morphological revitalization and to improve fish habitats. As a next step in this research, prototype shelters will be built on a natural river and monitored for 2-3years under a hydropeaking flow regime

La prévision hydrométéorologique sur le bassin versant du Rhône en amont du Léman

The main goal of the 3(rd) Rhone Correction project is to improve the flood protection in the Upper Rhone River basin. In this context, the MINERVE project aims contributing to a better flow control during flood events, taking advantage from the multireservoirs system existing in the watershed. For this purpose, a hydrometeorological forecast model has been developed as well as a decision support tool for the hydropower plants preventive management