To mitigate the impact of hydroelectric power plants on downstream fish migration, fish-friendly intakes, combining a low bar spacing rack and several bypasses, are implemented. There are still sites that can be improved thanks to a better bypass design. For this purpose, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be a useful tool, even if such devices are still uncommon. This paper investigates the use of a 3D model based on the Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equation for a single phase to simulate the flow in a real-scale water intake equipped with an inclined bar rack and three surface bypasses. The results of numerical simulations are compared to in situ measurements of flow velocities at four cross-sections along the rack, gauging the discharge flowing into the bypasses. The simulated velocities are in accordance with the velocities measured in situ, with a mean square error for the longitudinal velocity (vx) of 0.034 (m2/s2) for the initial simulation and 0.021 (m2/s2) for the improved simulation. The split of the total bypass discharge between the three bypass entrances was satisfyingly predicted by the simulation with the true inlet velocity condition, showing the significant influence of upstream flow non-uniformity.
Lemkecher et al. (2025) studied this question.