1. Use of a navigation lock as a barrier against the spread of invasive species
Allen Hammack, PE
US Army Corps of Engineers
Engineer R&D Center
Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory
September 20, 2017

2. GLMRIS was created to stop the spread of ANS to the Great Lakes
ANS – aquatic nuisance species (particularly Asian carp)
Electric barriers, water treatment, navigation locks, etc.
Brandon Road Lock

3. How could a navigation lock be used to prevent the spread of ANS?
Upper pool
Lower pool likely has ANS (adults, juveniles, eggs, DNA, etc.)
Upper pool is clean
As vessels/tows transit a lock, can the lock chamber be cleaned or flushed?
Lower pool
Brandon Road Lock

4. The lock flushing concepts fall into two categories
Lock filling and emptying system
Type 1 – existing
Type 5 – redesigned to USACE guidance
Flow through upstream gate sill
Type 3 – series of pipes

5. The same modeling approach was used for each flushing concept
Predict flushing effectiveness/efficiency by tracking flushing flow in chamber
AdH Navier-Stokes
Moving free surface
Previous analytical modeling and literature review provided:
Flushing geometries, flushing discharges
Flow domain included portion of upper pool, lock chamber to D/S miter gates
Chamber: 110 ft X 670 ft X ~15 ft
Flushing discharges:
Type 1 – 1,350 cfs; Type 3 – 3,000 cfs; Type 5 – 2,600 cfs

6. A 3D computational mesh was developed for each lock flushing geometry

7. A 3D computational mesh was developed for each lock flushing geometry

8. Animations of the concentration plots give an indication of the flushing performance
Flushing time = 0 minutes
Flushing time = 5 minutes
Flushing time = 10 minutes
Orange = 100% original lock water, dark blue = 0% original lock water
Change from orange to blue indicates original chamber water dilution
Concentrations vary in time and space
Flushing flow is introduced into lock chamber either through side ports or at upstream end

9. For Type 1, the original lock chamber water is diluted slowly throughout the chamber
40 minutes of flushing; 1 minute between frames

10. For Type 5, the original lock chamber water is diluted in the chamber more quickly
40 minutes of flushing; 1 minute between frames

11. For Type 3, the original lock chamber water is diluted upstream to downstream
40 minutes of flushing; 1 minute between frames

12. Evaluate lock flushing concepts by monitoring original chamber water concentration
How to read a single curve on the plot:
Choose a flushing time
Move up to a dilution curve
Move left to see how much of the lock chamber is at that concentration

13. Evaluate lock flushing concepts by monitoring original chamber water concentration
How to read a single curve on the plot:
Choose a flushing time
Move up to a dilution curve
Move left to see how much of the lock chamber is at that concentration

14. Evaluate lock flushing concepts by monitoring original chamber water concentration
How to read multiple curves at a single time on the plot:
Choose a flushing time
Move up to a dilution curve
Move left to see how much of the lock chamber is at each concentration level

15. Evaluate lock flushing concepts by monitoring original chamber water concentration
How to read multiple curves at a single time on the plot:
Choose a flushing time
Move up to a dilution curve
Move left to see how much of the lock chamber is at each concentration level

16. The concentration reduction results show how well the lock flushing concepts perform
Type 1
Type 5
Type 3
The curves moving to the upper left indicates more efficient flushing
Type 5 is more efficient than Type 1
Type 5 has a benefit of reducing the lock filling time
A variation of Type 3 will probably be the most efficient at flushing

17. More information on this study is publicly available
Appendix E – Hydrology and Hydraulics
Allen Hammack

18. Type 1 does not show sufficient flushing in a feasible time
Convection-dominated
Provides a baseline (“do nothing” case)
Clean chamber (99.9% dilution) almost nowhere in chamber after 30 minutes of flushing
Poor filling performance (~19 minutes)

19. Type 5 shows improved but still rather slow flushing performance
Convection-dominated
Noticeable cleaning (95% dilution) in chamber after 17 minutes of flushing
Reduced filling time could compensate for flushing time delay

20. Type 3 is more efficient in flushing than Types 1 and 5
Advection-dominated
Significant cleaning (99.9% dilution) in chamber after 27 minutes of flushing