Author(s): Ianina Kopecki; Tom Roessger; Falko Wagner

Linked Author(s): IANINA KOPECKI, Falko Wagner

Keywords: Barbus barbus; Bypass entrance; Ethohydraulic experiments; Fish downstream passage; Optimized design; Spatial velocity gradient (SVG); Video-tracking

Abstract: Together with protection screens, bypasses are essential components of protection facilities for downstream migrating fish at hydro power stations. They must ensure injury- and delay-free passage for downstream- migrating fish and prevent them from taking dangerous routes over weirs and through turbines. In this paper, we present the results of the OptiPass project, which aims to provide a generalized, transferable, and ethohydraulically and economically sound guideline for the planning of bypass structures. After outlining key details of the laboratory facility, hydrodynamic simulations and fish experiment s with Barbus barbus, we describe the workflow for an optimization of the bypass entrance design. We also compare fish acceptance of the state-of-the-art entrance with that of the OptiPass entrance design.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64697/iahr.proc.ise2026.abs.272

Year: 2026