Ventilated Corner Baffles to Assist Upstream Passage of Small-Bodied Fish in Box Culverts
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 8
Abstract
Standard box-culvert designs are similar to ancient designs. The acknowledgment of the ecological impact of culverts and road crossings on rivers has led to changes in culvert design guidelines. A small triangular corner baffle system was tested to assist upstream passage of small body-mass fish in box-culvert structures on a flat bed slope. The study was conducted in a near full–scale physical facility, which had a width of 0.5 m and a length of 12 m. The investigation presented a detailed characterization of the flow field. Tests showed that small-bodied fish preferred to swim in slow-velocity regions (i.e., in the baffles’ corner). The most effective baffles had heights comparable to fish length. A key outcome of the study is the adverse impact of strong flow reversal on small-bodied fish, because strong flow reversal may confuse small-bodied fish attempting upstream culvert passage. A remedial measure is the ventilation of baffles, tested successfully herein.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the helpful assistance of Angela Arum, Michael Cheung, Thi My Tram (Stephanie) Ngo, and Eric Wu (University of Queensland, Australia) in collecting physical data and processing fish trajectories. The authors acknowledge the technical assistance of Jason Van Der Gevel and Stewart Matthews (University of Queensland), and the assistance of Dr. Jabin Watson and Prof. Craig Franklin (University of Queensland) with fish testing. Financial support through the Australian Research Council (Grant No. LP140100225) is acknowledged.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 8 • August 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 12, 2017
Accepted: Mar 21, 2018
Published online: Jun 15, 2018
Published in print: Aug 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Nov 15, 2018
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