Intake-Shoaling and Pump-Vibration Problems

by Tatsuaki Nakato, Univ of Iowa, Inst of Hydraulic, Research, Iowa City, IA, USA,
John F. Kennedy, Univ of Iowa, Inst of Hydraulic, Research, Iowa City, IA, USA,
John D. Thorson, Univ of Iowa, Inst of Hydraulic, Research, Iowa City, IA, USA,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Water for Resource Development

Abstract:

Iowa Generation's Council Bluffs Unit 3 circulating water-intake structure has experienced two major problems: (1) formation of sand bars in front of the trash racks during high river stages, which limit flow into the pump bays during low river stages; and (2) severe pump-vibration problems and accelerated wear of pump bearings. To investigate the origin of the chronic sedimentation problems, flow and sediment data were first obtained in the field. A 1:36-scale, undistorted, movable-bed model then was built to test the effectiveness of external turning vanes in alleviating the first problem. The optimal arrangement of turning vanes obtained from the model study produces a scour trench just outside the intake, and thereby prevents coarse bed-load sediment from entering the intake bays. The second problem was resolved by improvements, developed in a 1:12-scale model investigation, in the pump-approach-flow distributions and elimination of boundary-attached vortices.

Subject Headings: Water intakes | Water circulation | Power plants | Hydraulic models | Water supply systems | Structural models | Sediment | Iowa | United States

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