Rock Island Arsenal Power Dam: Numerical Hydraulic Model Investigation of Channel Capacity for Power Generation
Abstract
The Mississippi River at Rock Island, IL, flows through Lock and Dam 15 and two power plants. One power plant is operated by the City of Moline, IL, while the other is under control of the U.S. Army Garrison Rock Island Arsenal. The Rock Island Arsenal is considering upgrades to its generating capacity, and there are questions regarding the impacts of the additional flow in the channel between Rock Island and the City of Moline due to these upgrades. Flow in Pool 15 (Moline Pool) and Pool 16 (Sylvan Slough) was modeled with Adaptive Hydraulics (AdH). The models were run for three different Mississippi River discharge scenarios (35,000, 74,000, 130,000 cfs). Increased discharge from the Rock Island plant had minimal effects in Sylvan Slough until combined power plant discharges exceeded 10,000 cfs. At higher flows, when combined with the 35,000 cfs Mississippi River scenario, the tailwater at both dams starts to increase. The existing capacity of the channel in the Moline Pool effectively limits discharge to 8,000 cfs at low Mississippi River flows. Dredging of the Moline Pool channel would allow larger power plant flows, but there would still be significant decreases in the available head for power generation at all Mississippi River discharges.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1011514
Entities
People
- Marielys Ramos-villanueva
- Ronald E. Heath
- Travis Dahl
Organizations
- Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory