Alden has numerous large buildings housing a wide array of hydraulic and fisheries test facilities. Testing facilities specifically designed for evaluating fish passage and protection technologies have been in operation at Alden since the early 1970s.
Large Test Flume
Our large test flume, finalized in 2006 and with a test section of 20 X 10 X 80 ft., is a closed-loop system with pumps and variable speed drives that provide a continuous velocity, with a maximum of roughly 3 ft/s in the full width, and a maximum volumetric flow capacity of 500cfs. The width can be constricted to increase the velocity up to about 10 ft/s. The facility includes a state-of-the-art fish holding facility for evaluations of biological impacts; an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP); velocity meters; transfer pumps which allow fast dewaternig for modifications; a 100-ton chiller; an advanced water filtration system; and a ten ton hoisting capacity.
Secondary Test Flume
This test flume is a closed loop system with a main channel that is 6 ft wide by 7 ft deep and has a maximum flow capacity of 120 cfs. Depending on water depth, flow velocities up to about 3 ft/sec and greater can be achieved. The downstream end is wider and deeper than the main channel, and a separate side channel provides additional space for installation of more than one technology at any given time. This flume includes a viewing window (7x8) ideal for observing tests.
Smaller tanks and customizable systems are also available. To ensure that fish acquired for testing are maintained in a healthy condition, state-of-the-art fish culture systems hold a wide variety of fish species (freshwater, estuarine, marine) and life stages (egg, larval, juvenile, and adult).
Using these facilities, we have conducted biological and/or engineering performance tests with the following technologies:
- Modified traveling screens (Ristroph screens)
- Cylindrical wedge wire screens
- Air burst systems
- Geiger Multi-Disc™ screens
- Aquatic filter barrier
- Bar racks (angled and perpendicular to approaching flow)
- Barrier nets
- Louvers
- Behavioral deterrents (strobe light, sound, air bubble curtain)
- Modular Inclined Screens (MIS)
- Eicher Screens
- Angled flat panel screens
- Filtrex Filter System
- Fish bypass systems
- Hydrokinetic turbines
Alden can design and construct any test facility needed to obtain engineering and biological data for all types of upstream and downstream passage and protection technologies for water intakes.
