Interaction of Hydraulic Structures with Air, Water, and Rock: The Challenge of Researchers and Designers

Since the last ten years, financial crisis has strongly impacted the global economy, which was mainly the result of un-controlled financial speculations at the stock markets highlighted by the revelations regarding offshore companies. Fortunately, the field of construction of large infrastructures, such as hydraulic schemes, has been left relatively untouched by this crisis. In order to stimulate their economies, many governments across the world have injected significant sums into sustainable infrastructures development

Potential of different composts to improve soil fertility

Composts can influence soil fertility and plant health. These influences can be positive or negative, depending of the quality of the composts. Some practitioners already make use of the positive effects on plant health. For example, they use composts to protect their plants against soil borne diseases in substrate, or to detoxify and reactivate soil after steaming. In order to estimate the potential of Swiss composts to influence soil fertility and plant health positively, we analyzed one hundred composts representative of the different composting systems and qualities available on the market. The organic substance and the nutrient content of the composts varied greatly between the composts; the materials of origin were the major factor influencing these values. The respiration rate and enzyme activities also varied greatly, particularly in the youngest composts. These differences become smaller when the composts become more mature. Maturity, the degradation stage of the organic matter, depended not only on the age of the compost, but also on the management of the process. The N-mineralization potential from compost added to soil showed that a high proportion of young composts immobilized the nitrogen in the soil. This problem was hardly correlated with the materials of origin, but with the management of the first stage of the composting process. Especially composts which had become too dry in this period lost their ammonia-nitrogen, and hence immobilized nitrogen in the soil. Also composts with a low NO3/NH4 ratio, as a rough indicator for an immature compost, immobilized nitrogen in the soil. By contrast, the phytotoxicity of the composts varied very much also in matured composts, showing that the storage of the compost plays a decisive role. While the majority of compost protected cucumber plants against Pythium ultimum, only a few composts suppressed Rhizoctonia solani in basil. With respect to disease suppression, the management of the maturation process seems to play a major role. In conclusion, big differences in compost quality and of their impact on soil fertility and on plant health were observed. The management of the composting process seems to influence the quality of the composts to a higher extent than the materials of origin or the composting system. More attention should be paid to biological quality of composts, in order to produce composts with more beneficial effects on crops

Mass-based depth and velocity scales for gravity currents and related flows

Gravity driven flows on inclines can be caused by cold, saline or turbid inflows into water bodies. Another example are cold downslope winds, which are caused by cooling of the atmosphere at the lower boundary. In a well-known contribution, Ellison and Turner (ET) investigated such flows by making use of earlier work on free shear flows by Morton, Taylor and Turner (MTT). Their entrainment relation is compared here with a spread relation based on a diffusion model for jets by Prandtl. This diffusion approach is suitable for forced plumes on an incline, but only when the channel topography is uniform, and the flow remains supercritical. A second aspect considered here is that the structure of ET's entrainment relation, and their shallow water equations, agrees with the one for open channel flows, but their depth and velocity scales are those for free shear flows, and derived from the velocity field. Conversely, the depth of an open channel flow is the vertical extent of the excess mass of the liquid phase, and the average velocity is the (known) discharge divided by the depth. As an alternative to ET's parameterization, two sets of flow scales similar to those of open channel flows are outlined for gravity currents in unstratified environments. The common feature of the two sets is that the velocity scale is derived by dividing the buoyancy flux by the excess pressure at the bottom. The difference between them is the way the volume flux is accounted for, which—unlike in open channel flows—generally increases in the streamwise direction. The relations between the three sets of scales are established here for gravity currents by allowing for a constant co-flow in the upper layer. The actual ratios of the three width, velocity, and buoyancy scales are evaluated from available experimental data on gravity currents, and from field data on katabatic winds. A corresponding study for free shear flows is referred to. Finally, a comparison of mass-based scales with a number of other flow scales is carried out for available data on a two-layer flow over an obstacle. Mass-based flow scales can also be used for other types of flows, such as self-aerated flows on spillways, water jets in air, or bubble plume

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

Effect of deflector aerator on stepped spillway flow

Systematic physical model tests are performed on a stepped spillway equipped with a bottom aerator at the beginning of the stepped part. A deflector is used to issue a jet in order to initiate air entrainment into the flow. A horizontal slot located in the vertical face of the first step allows for air supply underneath the flow. The cavity subpressure was measured to ensure optimal aerator performance, namely atmospheric pressure conditions. The air discharge entrained below the jet is measured to derive the aerator air entrainment coefficient. The local air concentrations are spatially measured downstream of the aerator at regularly spaced profiles, allowing the investigation of air transport and detrainment as well as the average and bottom air concentrations. The present paper focuses on the resulting spatial distribution of air concentration for five deflector geometries. The chute angle, step height, approach flow Froude number and approach flow depth were kept constant, so that the differences occur mostly on the jet length and air entrainment coefficient. The flow depth and the air concentration rapidly converge towards quasi-uniform flow values downstream of the aerator

Influence of Density of Large Stems on the Blocking Probability at Spillways

Dam safety is strongly linked to the probability of occurrence of large floods. Floods can transport large wood (LW) into reservoirs and towards water release structures as spillways. Due to blocking and clogging, LW may significantly influence the discharge capacity of spillways and thus result in a dangerous rise of the water level in the reservoir. For a better assessment of the related risk, the behaviour of LW in contact with hydraulic structures has to be known. Thus the understanding of LW blockage processes at the spillway and the resulting water level rise in the reservoir is important for the safety evaluation of a dam. The aim of the present study is to describe how LW characteristics can influence blocking probabilities at a spillway inlet equipped with piers. By investigating the parameters linked to LW blockage like slenderness and density, or different hydraulic conditions and transport scenarios, it becomes possible to quantify the behaviour and consequences of LW interactions with spillways. Through systematic laboratory experiments, the influence of LW density on blocking probabilities of individual stems is analysed. Experiments were conducted for reservoir approach flow type, implying small magnitudes of reservoir flow velocity. The results were considered statistically as Bernoulli experiments and the methodology applied was a logistic regression. For the combinations explored, a relation between blocking probability and density, among other parameters, is studied

Analyse von Fliessgeschwindigkeiten und Wassertiefen auf verschiedenen Typen von Blockrampen

Im Rahmen seiner Masterarbeit hat Herr Markus Studer systematisch die Fliessverhältnisse auf verschiedenen Typen von Blockrampen untersucht, welche im Labor nachgebildet wurden. Dies erlaubte die Messung von Fliessgeschwindigkeiten sowie Abflusstiefen in einem sehr engen Raster. Die kritischen Abflussbedingungen für den Fischaufstieg konnten so mit statistischen Analysen verdeutlicht werden. Nach der Masterarbeit wurde die Studie noch mit zusätzlichen Laborversuchen ergänzt. Zudem wurden auch auf zwei Blockrampen im Felde Messungen durchgeführt. Die Arbeit von Herrn Studer kann wertvolle Hinweise geben wie eine Blockrampe strukturiert werden sollte, damit günstige hydraulische Bedingungen für den Fischaufstieg vorherrschen

Hydraulic scaled model tests for the optimization of approach channel excavation and approach flow conditions of haraz morning glory spillway

Haraz dam under construction is located along Tehran-Amol road, 20 km upstream of the Amol city. A tunnel has been designed to detour the traffic temporarily around the dam site to avoid any closure of the main road. This tunnel will be integrated in the morning glory spillway of the dam. According to the road design constraints and the tunnel layout, the morning glory entrance is located next to the dam abutment. This is the main challenge in Haraz spillway in comparison with conventional morning glory spillway approach channel. A spillway hydraulic model was set up in Tehran Water Research Institute and the corresponding tests were performed on it subsequently. According to the test results and as expected, some disturbances in the stream lines were observed of the approach flow nearby the abutment which had some negative impacts on the spillway capacity and its performance. Several alternatives were studied to optimize the hydraulic conditions using the hydraulic model. Finally, taking advantage of piers in a specific position on the ogee crest was found to be the most promising solution for reducing flow disturbances. This method could be an innovative solution for morning glory spillways, which have to be located close to the abutments