A reader in the US replies:
In addition to the work performed by the US Army Corps of Engineers and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the University of Minnesota has performed applied and basic research on dissolved oxygen and nitrogen below hydro turbines, spillways, weirs and other hydraulic structures.
The list of references below provides most of the background on this research. I am not aware, however, of any studies on the impact of impulse turbines on dissolved oxygen and nitrogen. The presumption has been that the problems would be minimal, because both compounds would approach equilibrium with the atmosphere after the impact of the jet on the turbine. This assumption, however, has not been tested.
References:
1. Gulliver, John S., J. R. Thene and A. J. Rindels, "Indexing Gas Transfer Measurements in Self-Aerated Flows," Journal of Environmental Engineering, Vol. 116, No. 3, pp. 503-523, 1990.
2. Thene, J. R. and J. S. Gulliver, "Gas Transfer Measurements Using Headspace Analysis of Propane," Journal of Environmental Engineering, Vol 116, No. 6, pp. 1107-1124, 1990.
3. Gulliver, J. S., E. I. Daniil, and J. R. Thene, "Assessing Hydro-Projects' Effect on DO Concentration," Hydro Review, Vol. 9, No. 6, 1990.
4. Daniil, E. I., J. S. Gulliver and J. R. Thene, "Water Quality Impact Assessment for Hydropower," Journal of Environmental Engineering, Vol 117, No. 2, 1991.
5. Gulliver, J. S. and A. J. Rindels, "Measurement of Air-Water Oxygen Transfer at Hydraulic Structures," Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 119, No. 3, pp. 327-349, 1993.
6. Gulliver, J. S., D. E. Hibbs, and J. P. McDonald, "Measurement of an Effective Saturation Concentration for Gas Transfer with a Plunging Water Jet," Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 123, No. 2, pp, 86-97, 1997.
7. Hibbs, D. E. and J. S. Gulliver, "Prediction of an Effective Saturation Concentration at Spillway Plunge Pools," Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 123, No. 11, pp. 940-949, 1997.
8. Thompson, E. J. and J. S. Gulliver, "Oxygen Transfer Similitude for a Vented Hydroturbine," Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 123, No. 6, pp. 529-538, 1997.
9. Geldert, D. A., J. S. Gulliver, and S. C. Wilhelms, "Modeling Dissolved Gas Supersaturation Below Spillway Plunge Pools," J. Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 124, No. 5, pp. 513-521, 1998.
10. Gulliver, J. S., S. C. Wilhelms, and K. L. Parkhill, "Predictive Capabilities in Oxygen Transfer at Hydraulic Structures," J. of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 124, No. 7, pp. 664-671, 1998.
11. Orlins, J.J. and J.S. Gulliver, "Dissolved Gas Supersaturation Downstream of a spillway, II: Computational Model," Journal of Hydraulic Research, in press, 2000.
12. Rindels, A. J. and J. S. Gulliver, "Oxygen Transfer at Spillways," in Air-Water Mass Transfer, ed. by S. C. Wilhelms and J. S. Gulliver, American Society of Civil Engineers, Washington, D.C., pp 524-535, 1991.
13. McDonald, J. P. and J. S. Gulliver, "Methane Tracer Technique for Gas Transfer at Hydraulic Structures," in Air-Water Mass Transfer, ed. by S. C. Wilhelms and J. S. Gulliver, American Society of Civil Engineers, Washington, D.C., pp. 267-277, 1991.
14. Gulliver, J. S. and R.E.A. Arndt, "Interfacial Transport in River-Reservoir Systems," in Measurement and Modeling of Environmental Flows, FED-Vol. 143, S. A. Sherif, D. E. Stock, E. E. Michaelides, L. R. Davis, I. Celik, B. Khalighi, and R. Kumar (eds.), American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, NY, 1992.
15. Gulliver, J. S. and S. C. Wilhelms, "Water Quality Enhancement Technology for River-Reservoir Systems," Hydraulic Engineering '94, American Society of Civil Engineers, Washington, D.C., 1994.
16. Hettiarachchi, S., O'Connor, B., Miller, K., Kincaid, G., Hibbs, D., J. Gulliver, S. Wilhelms, "Reaeration Measurements Using Methane Tracer at Six Dams in the Ohio River Basin," Waterpower '97, American Society of Civil Engineers, Washington, D.C., 1997.
17. Hibbs, D., J. Gulliver, and T. Biggs, "Cost Comparison of Dissolved Oxygen Enhancement Systems at the El Vado Dam," Proceedings, Waterpower '97, American Society of Civil Engineers, Washington, D.C., 1997.
18. Gulliver, J.S., "Mass Transfer in an Aerated Flow," Keynote Paper, Second International Symposium on Aeration Technology, FED - 229, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Washington, D.C. 1998.
