3D Numerical model for tailrace of Três Marias Dam: Progress to fish and hydraulica analyses
Hydroelectricity, Environmental Impact, Ictiofauna, Computacional Dynamic Fluids
With a representativity over 60%, the hydroelectricity is the main energy source of the Brazilian Electrical Matrix. Despite that, the Hydropower Dams in Brazil cause great environmental impact, resulting in a loss of big quantities of migrant fish, which stand in their way a dam as an obstacle for their natural cycle, as occurred in March 200, in Três Marias Dam, where 7 tons of fish were killed due to the dam operations. To mitigate this kind of environmental impact, the advances in the computacional technology show important and efficient aid, and with this motivation, this work seeks to evaluate if the hydraulic variables obtained in a 3D numerical model, predict the behavior of the species Pimelodus maculatus (yello mandi) e Prochilodus argenteus (curimba) at the TMD’s tailrace. Computacional Dynamic Fluids (CFD) models, tridimensional numerical simulation, softwares that maps and monitors ictiofauna local habits with virtual simulations, reveals be fundamentals tools to understand the fish behavior and reduction their mortality near dams.