Simulation-driven design with computational fluid dynamics has been used to evaluate the flow downstream of a hydropower plant with regards to upstream migrating fish. Field measurements with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler were performed, and the measurements were used to validate the simulations. The measurements indicate a more unstable flow than the simulations, and the tailrace jet from the turbines is stronger in the simulations. A fishway entrance was included in the simulations, and the subsequent attraction water was evaluated for two positions and two angles of the entrance at different turbine discharges. Results show that both positions are viable and that a position where the flow from the fishway does not have to compete with the flow from the power plant will generate superior attraction water. Simulations were also performed for further downstream where the flow from the turbines meets the old river bed which is the current fish passage for upstream migrating fish. A modification of the old river bed was made in the model as one scenario to generate better attraction water. This considerably increases the attraction water although it cannot compete with the flow from the tailrace tunnel.

One way to upgrade iron ore is to process it into pellets. Such a process includes several stages involving complex fluid dynamics. In this work, focus is on the grate-kiln pelletizing process and especially on the rotary kiln, with the objective to get a deeper understanding of the aerodynamics in order to improve the combustion. A down-scaled, simplified model of the real kiln is created and both numerical and experimental analyses of the flow field are performed. Conclusions are that steady state simulations can be used to get an overview over the main features of the flow field. Precautions should though be taken when analyzing the recirculation zone since steady state simulations do not capture the transient, oscillating behavior of the flow seen in the physical experiment. These oscillations will under certain conditions considerably affect the size of the recirculation zone.

The flow field inside and downstream of an open channel placed near the surface of a free flow (such as the tail water of a turbine) is characterized in detail. The channel cross-section is U-shaped and in the downstream end is placed a ramp on the bottom which accelerates the flow passing through the channel. This flow is intended to catch the attention of fish and improve their entrance to fishways, which has also been successfully demonstrated in field tests.

The flow field inside and downstream of an open channel placed near the surface of a free flow (such as the tail water of a turbine) is characterized in detail. The channel cross-section is U-shaped and in the downstream end is placed a ramp on the bottom which accelerates the flow passing through the channel. This flow is intended to catch the attention of fish and improve their entrance to fishways, which has also been successfully demonstrated in field tests.The flow through the channel is subcritical and the ramp thus blocks some water from passing through. To find the optimum vertical position of the channel, a down-scaled model channel is placed in a water flume and flow fields in vertical planes directed along the flow are visualized using particle image velocimetry. Results show that increasing the depth over the ramp has little effect on the maximum velocity while it makes the accelerated water more perceptible downstream the channel. This will most likely improve the channel's ability to attract fish. It is also shown that a recirculation zone is formed in the channel for the small depths tested. Finally, it is shown that a modest tilt of the channel will not affect the flow field in any significant way.

Turbulent secondary flows are motions in the transverse plane, perpendicular to a main, axial flow. They are encountered in non-circular ducts and can, although the velocity is only of the order of 1–3% of the streamwise bulk velocity, affect the characteristics of the mean flow and the turbulent structure. In this work, the focus is on secondary flow in semi-circular ducts which has previously not been reported. Both numerical and experimental analyses are carried out with high accuracy. It is found that the secondary flow in semi-circular ducts consists of two pairs of counter rotating corner vortices, with a velocity in the range reported previously for related configurations. Agreement between simulation and experimental results are excellent when using a second moment closure turbulence model, and when taking the experimental and numerical uncertainty into account. New and unique results of the secondary flow in semi-circular ducts have been derived from verified simulations and validating laser-based experiments.

Simulation driven design with Computational Fluid Dynamics has been used to evaluate the flow downstream a hydropower plant with regards to upstream migrating fish. Field measurements with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler were performed and the measurements were used to validate the simulations. The measurements indicate a more unstable flow than the simulations and the tailrace jet from the turbines is stronger in the simulations. The simulations are however considered to capture the important features of the flow in a way that makes them viable for attraction water simulations. A fishway entrance was included in the simulations and the subsequent attraction water was evaluated for two positions and two angles of the entrance at different turbine discharges. Results show that both positions are viable and that a position where the flow from the fishway does not have to compete with the flow from the power plant will generate superior attraction water. Simulations were also performed further downstream where the flow from the turbines meets the old river bed which is the current fish passage for upstream migrating fish. A modification of the old river bed was made in the model as one scenario to generate better attraction water. This considerably increases the attraction water although it cannot compete with the flow from the tailrace tunnel.

Downstream migrating smolt must be guided around hydropower plants to avoid fish mortality due to the turbines. In Piteå River, which is already regulated, open spillways serve this purpose but few fish find this route. Hence, action must be taken to enhance downstream fish migration. One way to attract the fish to the spillways is to direct the surface flow towards them by means of a guiding device. The hydrodynamic design of one such device is outlined using numerical calculations of the flow upstream the spillways and by the assumption that the fish moves near the surface of the water. A number of geometries are evaluated by starting from a straight impermeable barrier that extends 2 m down from the water surface and stretches over a part of the river. A major result is that it is possible to redirect the surface water towards the spillways at very low spilling rates which means high energy efficiency. Another finding was that the device should stretch over a large part of the river. For optimal functionality, the spilling should match the guiding device geometry. High spilling implies that the guiding has a low impact while for low spilling the geometry is crucial for successful downstream migration.

One way to upgrade iron ore is to process it into pellets. Such a process includes several stages involving complex fluid dynamics. In this work the focus is on the grate-kiln pelletizing process and especially on the rotary kiln, with the objective to get a deeper understanding of itsthe aerodynamics. A down-scaled, simplified model of a full-scale kiln is created and both a numerical and an experimental analysis of the flow field are performed. Conclusions are that steady state simulations can be used to get an overview over the main features of the flow field. Precautions should though be taken when analysing the recirculation zone since the steady state simulations do not capture the transient, oscillating behaviour of the flow seen in the validation experiments, which affects the size of the recirculation zone.

A flow device that accelerates turbine tail water (or any free stream) to act as an attraction for migrating fish is field tested. The device consists of an open (U-shaped) channel which accelerates the incoming flow by a local constriction of the cross-sectional area. The velocity increase has previously been investigated in a lab-scale model and an increase of 38% has been established. In the summers of 2004 and 2005, a full-scale prototype of the attraction channel was tested at the Sikfors hydropower plant in the Pite River in Sweden. The channel was equipped with underwater cameras to monitor and record the fish swimming through it. The tests show that the fish do swim through the attraction channel. During the same time period in 2004 and 2005, 57 and 471 fishes swam through the channel, respectively. The major change of the channel between the two years was that it was painted black for 2005.