Fish Migration Pipe With a Buffer for Pressure-Difference Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for migrating fish over barriers, such as weirs and dykes, are unsafe and inefficient, as fish cannot survive the pressure differences and mechanical damage in pumps and pipes, and weirs create impassable obstructions due to high velocities and uniform flow conditions.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a lure stream created by pumping water through a pipe to raise the water level, allowing fish to migrate safely by swimming against the flow, using valves and pumps to control water flow and pressure, with optional fish deterrence and detection systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a pumping station with pipe is used to transfer water over the barrier, then water can be transferred from lower body to higher body, but fish cannot survive due to pressure differences and mechanical damage
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe is divided into multiple sections with intermediate discharge points, allowing water to be pumped in stages rather than all at once. This reduces the pressure difference at any single location while maintaining overall water transfer capability across the barrier.
Solution Approach 2:
A fish buffer zone is introduced as an intermediary area between the pipe discharge point and the target water body. This buffer zone allows fish to safely enter and exit the pipe system without direct exposure to harmful pressure differences and mechanical damage from the pumping mechanism.
2Stress or pressure
If a weir is used to separate two bodies of water, then water level can be controlled, but fish cannot pass due to high velocities and uniform flow conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe system introduces non-uniform flow conditions locally at the discharge points, creating varied flow patterns that disrupt the uniform flow regime. This allows fish to navigate the flow more easily by exploiting local variations in velocity and direction, while still maintaining overall water level control.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of forcing fish to swim with the uniform high-velocity flow over the weir, the system creates conditions where fish can move against the flow direction in the buffer zone, effectively inverting the traditional flow-fish interaction dynamic.
3Reliability
If fixed fish migration devices are installed at every location, then fish can migrate reliably, but operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fish migration device is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to be relocated between different barrier locations. This dynamic approach maintains migration reliability at each location when deployed, while reducing overall operational costs by sharing the same device across multiple locations rather than installing fixed devices everywhere.
Solution Approach 2:
The pipe system and fish buffer zone configuration is designed to be universally applicable at different barrier locations and for different fish species. The same basic device structure can serve multiple functions and locations, reducing the need for specialized infrastructure at each site and thereby lowering operational costs.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables safe and cost-effective fish migration across barriers without large civil works, allowing fish to traverse in either direction, with automated control and reduced operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
providing a lure stream through a pipe that is placed over the barrier by pumping water through the pipe from a first end of the pipe to a second end of the pipe
Implementation Method 2
raising the level of water in the pipe by pumping water in the pipe from a first end of the pipe to the second end of the pipe such that the water level allows fish to migrate through the pipe
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for migrating fish over a barrier, comprising: - providing a lure stream through a pipe that is placed over the barrier by pumping water through the pipe from a first end of the pipe to a second end of the pipe; - opening a valve at the second end of the pipe such that fish are allowed to enter a fish buffer positioned at the second end of the pipe that receives the lure stream; - closing the valve at the second end of the pipe; - raising the level of water in the pipe by pumping water in the pipe from a first end of the pipe to a second end of the pipe such that the water level allows fish to migrate through the pipe from the second end to the first end; and - opening the valves at the first and the second end of the pipe to allow the fish to move away from the vicinity of the pipe.