Hydraulic research for the lower intake at the Avce pumped-storage plant

This paper describes hydraulic modelling of the intake of the Avce pumped-storage plant, under construction on the Soca river in Slovenia, which is planned to begin operation in 2009. The research was aimed at preventing sediment deposition from the Soca river. Studies on the initial intake design showed that the structure was not safe from the sediment inflow, mainly because of the significant increase in the sediment level between 2000 and 2003. Several design variants had failed to offer an acceptable solution, which would allow undisturbed operation for the required boundary conditions.