T-110-21
Design and Implementation of a New Autonomous Sensor Fish to Turbine Passage Evaluation

Z. Daniel Deng , Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA
Jun Lu , Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA
Mitchell Myjak , National Security Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA
Jayson Martinez , Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA
Chuan Tian , Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA
Scott Morris , National Security Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA
Thomas J. Carlson , Coastal Sciences, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, North Bonneville, WA
Da Zhou , Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA
Hongfei Hou , Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA
Acceleration in development of additional conventional hydropower requires tools and methods to perform laboratory and in-field validation of turbine performance and fish passage claims. The new-generation Sensor Fish has been developed with more capabilities to accommodate a wider range of users over a broader range of turbine designs and operating environments. It provides in situ measurements of three dimensional (3D) linear accelerations, 3D rotational velocities, 3D orientation, pressure, and temperature at a sampling frequency of 2,048 Hz. It also has an automatic floatation system and built-in radio-frequency transmitter for recovery. The relative errors of the pressure, acceleration, and rotational velocity were within ±2%, ±5%, and ±5%, respectively. The accuracy of orientation was within ±4° and accuracy of temperature was ±2°C.  The new-generation Sensor Fish is becoming a major technology and being deployed for evaluating the conditions for fish passage of turbines or other hydraulic structures in both the United States and several other countries.