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Fish Friendly Screw Pumps

Fish Friendly Screw Pumps
Fish Friendly Screw Pumps

An archimedean revolution- Fish Friendly Screw Pumps

The concept of an Archimedean screw is over 2000 years old, and has many uses in modern life, however it is commonly used in a trough for moving water. This often makes the cost of their use prohibitive, due to complicated construction and restrictions on size. Along with this, wear levels are high, and leakage down the screw can reduce their efficiency,
meaning larger sizes are specified to achieve the desired result.

 

Fish Flow Innovations have revolutionised the use of Archimedean Screws by being loyal to the original concept of using the screw in an enclosed tube- this way every drop that enters the screw is moved to the top, vastly improving efficiency, with obvious knock-ons to running costs, reducing size of the pump, and even savings in construction of the surrounding buildings and civil structure.

 

The design is simple, yet very clever, using high grade materials such as Stainless Steel and Vinyl Ester Composite to keep weight low, preventing osmosis-related damage and ensuring a long, trouble free life. A major factor in it’s efficiency is that there is no leak path, with no requirement for seals that can wear on the screw vanes, meaning that EVERY drop that goes in, is pushed out at the top.

 

The pump is delivered as a single module, can be installed in a matter of a few hours, and requires an extremely simple civil structure, vastly reducing site costs when compared with a traditional screw pump.

Unrivalled fish friendliness

The ACE archimedean screw pump has been developed in the Netherlands by Fish Flow Innovations, with the key design criteria being absolute safe passage for fish that enter the pump. In developing a specifically designed leading edge for the pump, benefits in efficiency and energy savings were also noted, making the pump the perfect solution.

 

The leading edge has a curved vane, which glides smoothly into the water to reduce splash and turbulence, and in turn it hydraulically guides fish and debris into the screw pump preventing collision. The smooth entry into the water also prevents direct strike as found with common screw designs, and the lower speed that is required due to the increased efficiency also helps to preserve fish in the area. The pump has an in-built reverse facility that on stopping the pump, it is allowed to back-wind for sufficient rotations to empty the pump prior to applying the brake, allowing any aquatic life that remain in the pump to escape.

Simple construction-reduced TOTEX cost

The Fish Friendly Screw pump is designed to be extremely simple to install, where in most cases the pump can be installed in a matter of hours. Where typical screw pumps require weeks of complicated and intricate construction of a concrete half-pipe, the Fish Flow Innovations Screw Pump only requires a horizontal apron, and a vertical wall to sit on. The unit is supplied on a fabricated frame, which merely requires bolting to the concrete surface, with electrical connection finishing the installation.

 

But it doesn’t end there- the tubular construction of the fish pass has further advantages which can vastly reduce the size of the station construction:

 

  • The pump has no limitation in length- typical screws are limited due to their weight, causing sag, which often requires an inefficient slope angle to be used- the FFI Screw pump can have intermediate supports keeping the build height low
  • If used with a non return valve for peace of mind, the FFI screw pump is capable of pumping into a head of water, again keeping the build height low
  • The increased efficiency reduces the overall size of the pump- all other constructions can be smaller to suit
  • Common practices involving fixed speed pumps may require multiple pumps to be used- Variable speed drives often mean less pumps can be used, and run at the minimum energy output require to achieve the desired flow

 

The specification of the pumps is agreed on a site-specific basis, to suit each application- please take a look at our recent projects, or contact us to discuss your requirements.

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