| In May of 2004, the Alcan International Limited company signed a contract with Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique to conduct a hydraulic study on the Peribonka River, in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. The goal of this master's thesis is to determine the flow transfer functions simulating the run-off of the Peribonka River between the Chute-des-Passes power plant (CCP) and the Chute-du-Diable power plant (CCD). These flow transfer functions must take into consideration the new Peribonka power plant (CP), currently being constructed by Hydro-Quebec.; The simulation software Fldwav is used to conduct the study on the Peribonka River. This software runs one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations which can solve Saint-Venant equations using a numerical method, i.e. solving a weighted four-point scheme.; The Peribonka River model was first developed and then calibrated. The calibration was conducted on the geometry of sections of the model representing the reservoirs of the CCD and the CP power plant. The model's Manning coefficients were also calibrated with many simulations. These simulations were conducted from hydrological data, i.e. the water discharged in hydroelectrical power plants and the water levels of the limnimetric stations of the Peribonka River.; The flow transfer functions (FTD) were established and validated for the three segments of the Peribonka River, that is to say the segment between the CCP and the CCD, the segment between the CCP and the CP power plant, and the segment between the CP power plant and the CCD. Among the group of established FTD's, the average flow transfer functions (FTDm) are the functions recommended for simulating the water run-off in the Peribonka River.; However, the use of FTD's is not recommended to simulate the water run-off during the winter, when the river freezes over.; The FTD's established in this project can be integrated into the hourly optimization model currently used by Alcan. These FTD's will allow a better prediction of the arrival of water from the CCP and from the CP power plant to the CCD. Moreover, the FTD's can be used by Alcan in order to develop preventive measures regarding the risk of floods, which can happen at any time of the year during use of the CCP, CP power plant and CCD. |
