Testing Three Vertical Slot Fishway Configurations for a Chinese Endemic Fish.

This paper presents the results of a hydrodynamic experimental study of the hydraulic characteristics of flow in different vertical slot fishway (VSF) designs with L-shaped, polygonal, and semicircular baffles. A biological experiment was conducted using endemic fish to analyze the efficiency of the upstream passage of different VSF designs. Based on the results, a significant difference in water depth, slot velocity, turbulence kinetic energy, and efficiency of the upstream passage was observed. The L-shaped baffle had better energy dissipation; however, the fishway with a polygonal baffle had better efficiency of the upstream passage. The results indicated that the present VSFs are all fish-friendly for Chinese endemic fish, but VSFs with polygonal baffles may be a better choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]