Geomats Used to Control Erosion on Reservoir Margins in Brazilian Hydroelectric Power Plants

Erosion on reservoir margins causes losses in the production of energy in Hydroelectric Power Plants (HPPs), making it necessary to implement control techniques that ensure the reduction in sediment deposits inside reservoirs. Among these techniques, geomats (geosynthetic erosion mats) are widely us...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water (Basel) 2021-06, Vol.13 (11), p.1444
Main Authors: da Luz, Marta, Aparicio Ardila, Maria, dos Santos Junior, Ricardo, Valentin, Clever, Schliewe, Marlon, Coelho, Arnaldo, Lins da Silva, Jefferson
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Aging (natural)
Agricultural production
Bathymetry
Bioengineering
Book publishing
Calorimetry
Differential scanning calorimetry
Electric utilities
Erosion control
Field study
Geosynthetics
Hydroelectric plants
Hydroelectric power
Hydroelectric power plants
Laboratories
Levees & battures
Power plants
Radiation
Reservoirs
Sediment deposits
Shear strength
Soil erosion
Ultraviolet radiation
Vegetation
Water-power
Watercourses
Wind
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Summary:Erosion on reservoir margins causes losses in the production of energy in Hydroelectric Power Plants (HPPs), making it necessary to implement control techniques that ensure the reduction in sediment deposits inside reservoirs. Among these techniques, geomats (geosynthetic erosion mats) are widely used to control erosion processes in slopes and watercourses. This material protects the margins both in the short and long term, contributing to strengthening the vegetation’s roots developed in the erosion areas. This paper studies the performance of geomats (with and without sack gabion) installed in six margin sections distributed in three experimental units of the Brazilian HPPs called Porto Colômbia and Volta Grande. The geomat performance was evaluated over four years of monitoring through a qualitative evaluation matrix and differential bathymetry. The influence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the degradation of geomats installed in each section (natural conditions), as well as on geomat ultraviolet-aging samples in the laboratory (accelerated conditions), was also evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed no significant difference in performance between using the erosion control technique consisting only of geomats and the technique consisting of geomats and sack gabion. The highest bathymetric difference value obtained in the present study was 1.62 m in the experimental unit VG1, controlled with geomat without the application of sack gabion on the margin.
ISSN:2073-4441
2073-4441
DOI:10.3390/w13111444