Using Three-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Modeling and Fish Swimming Energetics to Assess Culverts as Potential Physical Barriers to Upstream Fish Movement

Fish passage through culverts is an important consideration in road and stream crossing design. Although no comprehensive inventory of culverts on fish-bearing streams in the United States is available, there are an estimated 1.4 million stream-road crossings. The most common physical characteristics that create barriers to upstream fish passage include excessive water velocity, insufficient water depth and large outlet drop heights. Over the past decade, interest in the effect of culvert barriers on aquatic systems has grown; accordingly, various passage assessment techniques have been used to determine whether a structure is a barrier and under what flow conditions. Recent research has shown that determining the barrier status of a culvert is not trivial, and that different methods are often not congruent in their classification of barriers. The purpose of this research was to test the use of 3-D hydrodynamic modeling to assess potential culvert barriers to upstream fish movement. The approach quantified the 3-D velocity field within the culvert barrel using computational fluid dynamics. A range of potential paths through the culvert were identified using an algorithm that estimates energy paths, and passage along the paths was assessed by combining the swim speed-fatigue time relationship with the 3-D velocity field. Results from the 3-D approach were compared to an approach that used the 1-D velocity field to estimate passability. Comparisons between estimated passage and measured passage showed the 3-D method more accurately indicated the barrier status of the structure compared to the 1-D method.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Blank, Matthew D
  • Cahoon, Joel
  • McMahon, Tom
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 88th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2009-1-11 to 2009-1-15
• Date: 2009

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 22p
• Monograph Title: TRB 88th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aquatic life; Culverts; Environment; Fishes; Hydrodynamics; Streams
• Uncontrolled Terms: Computational fluid; Fish passage; Upstream
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; I15: Environment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01126785
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 09-2917
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 17 2009 9:56AM