Title:

Design and Construction of a Recirculating Flume for Lumpfish Adhesion Strength Testing

The purpose of this project was to design a flow chamber to test the adhesion strength of 25-75g juvenile lumpfish. In the aquaculture industry, lumpfish are used as a sustainable way to mitigate sea lice infestations on salmonid farms. However, the water conditions on these farms are more volatile than the conditions lumpfish naturally encounter as a benthic species, potentially jeopardizing their viability as a form of pest control. If presented with strong currents, lumpfish have a suction disc on their undersides that allows them to adhere strongly to various objects and resist being swept away. To assess the suction disc adhesion strength of lumpfish of the appropriate size/weight for deployment on salmonid farms, a small, recirculating flume was designed and constructed. The flume was required to have a compact form factor and a test section viewable from above by camera. The flow driving mechanism was required to achieve water velocities between 4 to 60 cm/s, and be capable of producing gradual acceleration and steady flow. The body of the flume was constructed using salvaged plexiglass and additional spare materials. A submersible thruster system was wired and integrated into the flume body via a 3D printed flow duct. The flume was intentionally designed to be modular and allow for testing probes to be added in consideration of additional research being performed using the flume.

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