Hydrokinetic Turbine Impact Assessment on Fish

Abstract

Hydrokinetic turbines employ water flow kinetic energy to generate electricity and are a suitable option to be considered in the background of clean energy, specifically in countries or regions with high hydric potential. However, hydrokinetic devices present impacts on the fauna and flora during the installation and operation process. This work assesses the HK-10 rotor’s potential impacts on fish through numerical simulations. The HK-10 rotor is a four-blade propeller-type hydrokinetic turbine developed to reach a sustainable conversion technology for energy supply in small remote communities. The computation of some bio-criteria based on pressure and shear stress levels, mechanical design, and operation conditions allow us to qualify the HK-10 rotor as a fish-friendly device, complying with the established prerequisites in the literature. Finally, from the flow characteristic analysis in the wake rotor, we discuss how the coherent vortexes could affect the fish position and orientation.