* Bridge and culvert hydraulics

Course Name:- Bridge and Culvert hydraulics

Course Code:- HE-5203
Semester :- II
Prerequisite:- Road Engineering
Credit Hours:- 3
Instructor:- Hailu K
Email: kebede2040@[Link]
Section:- G5HWRE
Wollega University (2021/22)
Hydraulic & WR Engineering Dep’t
Hydrology data
o Peak flow (discharge);- by stream gauging/ linear
Regression /Rational methods.
o Check flow (discharge); by stream gauging/ linear
Regression /Rational methods.
o Hydrograph ;- by stream gauge /synthetic methods
o Storage routing
 Site data
o Culvert location;- from map
o Waterway data;- from field survey
Cross section
Longitudinal stream slope
Resistance
Tail water
Upstream storage
Roadway data; from roadway plan
Cross section
Longitudinal roadway profile
Culvert length
Data for headwater design
Critical point;- from roadway plans
Surrounding building;- from maps / plans/photos
Regulatory constrains;- from floodplains/ flood insurance
regions
Arbitrary constrains;-from state/local regions
Hydrology
oHydrologic analysis involves the estimation of a design flow rate
based on climatological and watershed characteristics.

oThis analysis is one of the most important aspects of culvert design.

oA statistical concept often associated with hydrologic analysis is the
return period.

oThe term return period is used when referring to the frequency of

occurrence of rare events such as floods.

oMathematically, the return period is the reciprocal of frequency.

For example, the flood which has a 5 percent chance of occurring
(frequency) in any given year also has a return period of 20 years; i.e.,
1/0.05 = 20 years.
In other words, this flood event will be exceeded on the average of
once every 20 years over a long period of time.
Hence, the 20- year flood event is likely to be exceeded five times
during a 100-year period.
These events will be randomly spaced over the 100 years
Considerable study of the use of risk analysis in culvert design has
occurred over the past 10 to 20 years.
Risk analysis balances the culvert cost with the damages associated with
inadequate culvert performance.
This leads to under-design and over-design of culvert size that causes
over topping and unwanted construction of huge structures.
Peak Design Flow.
It is maximum flow rate or the (peak flow).
The peak flow has been, and continues to be, a major factor in the culvert
design process.
In traditional culvert design, a structure is sized to pass a peak flow from
one side of the roadway embankment to the other with an acceptable
headwater elevation.
The magnitude of the peak flow is dependent upon the selection of a
return period.
The assignment of a return period is generally based on the
importance of the roadway and flood damage potential for gaged
sites.

Statistical analyses can be performed on the recorded stream flow to

provide an estimated peak design flow for a given return period.

The accuracy of the estimate improves as the length of the record

increases.

For culvert sites significantly removed from the gage, the peak
design flow may have to be adjusted.
A typical statistical analysis for data from a gaged site proceeds as
follows.

First, the annual peak flows for the site are arranged in descending
order.

Then, the plotting position is calculated by one of several available

formulas.

 The peak floods are then plotted on a probability paper to define

the frequency relationship for the gage site.
If Gumbel paper (Type I external distribution) is used to plot the data,
the mean of the data (mean annual flood) will plot at a frequency of
0.429. This equates to a return period of 2.33 years.

Other return periods can be read from the frequency plot, because the
return period is the inverse of the frequency.

Un-gaged sites present more of a design problem.

Stream gage data for particular regions have been utilized to develop
statistical regression equations for most areas of the country.
These equations generally require basic watershed parameters such as drainage
area and average stream slope.

Using the required data, peak design flows can be determined for Un-gaged sites
within that region.

Deterministic methods are also available which attempt to model the rain fall
runoff process.

The key input parameter in these methods is rainfall which must be related to a
return period.

The amount of watershed data required is dependent upon the sophistication of

the model.
Some of the commonly employed methods of peak flow
generation for gaged and ungaged sites.
Peak discharge determination methods
For gauging site
Normal Distribution
Log-Normal Distribution
Gumbel Extreme Value Distribution
Log-Pearson Type III Distribution
.
 For un-gauging site

o USGS Regression Equations

o FHWA Regression Equations
o Regional Peak Flow Methods
o SCS Peak Discharge Method
o Rational Method
One of the most commonly used for the calculation of
peak flow from small areas is the rational formula given
as:
The ground cover and a host of other hydrologic
abstractions considerably affect the coefficient.
The Values of C vary from 0.05 for flat sandy areas to
0.95 for impervious urban surfaces,
If the basin contains varying amount of different
land cover or other abstractions, a coefficient can be
calculated through areal weighing as shown in
following equation
Solution:
Rainfall intensity,
duration and
frequency
curves are
necessary to use
the Rational
method.
Site Data
The hydraulic design of a culvert installation requires the
evaluation of a large amount of data including;-
o culvert location,
owaterway data,
oroadway data, and
othe design headwater.
Culvert Location.
oA culvert should ideally be located in the existing channel bed to
minimize costs associated with structural excavation and channel
work.
oSome streambeds are sinuous and cannot accommodate a straight
culvert.
oIn other situations, a stream channel may have to be relocated to
avoid the installation of an inordinately long culvert.

oWhen relocating a stream channel, it is best to avoid abrupt stream

transitions at either end of the culvert.

oIn the second case, the channel has been relocated to reduce the
culvert length.

oprice concluded that minor channel relocations for culvert alignments

have been successful unless the natural channel was already unstable.
Photographs of site conditions are often beneficial.
a) Cross Sections.
Stream cross sectional data acquired from a field survey at the
site are highly desirable.
At least three cross sections should be taken to establish the
stream slope, the culvert inlet, the culvert outlet, and the
configuration of the natural channel.
Sections should be taken:
1) about 30 m (100 ft) upstream from the crossing,

2) at the centerline of the roadway, and

3) about 30 m (100 ft) downstream from the crossing.

The natural streambed width and side slopes, and the floodplain
width may be obtained from these cross sections.
The cross-sectional data will also help to verify the accuracy of
existing topographic maps.
If significant ponding is likely, additional sections may be
necessary to determine the storage capacity upstream of the
culvert.
Likewise, additional downstream sections may be necessary to
establish downstream water level (tail water) conditions.
If only one cross section of the natural channel is available, it
will be used as the typical cross section.
This assumption should be checked using topographic maps and
aerial photos.
Additional information on stream slope and upstream
storage volume should also be obtained from the
topographic maps.
b) Stream Slope.
The longitudinal slope of the existing channel in the vicinity of the proposed
culvert should be defined in order to properly position the culvert in vertical profile
and to define flow characteristics in the natural stream.
Often, the proposed culvert is positioned at the same longitudinal slope as the
streambed.
Cross sections will provide streambed elevations at the deepest point of the
stream.
From these elevations and the distances between the cross sections the stream
slope may be calculated.
c) Resistance.
The hydraulic resistance coefficient of the natural channel must be evaluated in
order to calculate pre project flow conditions.
This resistance coefficient is usually taken to be the Manning’s n value.
Various methods are available to evaluate resistance coefficients for
natural streams, including comparisons with photographs of streams with
known resistance values or tabular methods based on stream characteristics.
d)Tail water.
Culvert performance is likely to be affected by the downstream water surface
elevation or tail water.
Therefore, conditions which might promote high tail water elevations
during flood events should be investigated.
Downstream impoundments, obstructions, channel constrictions, tidal effects,
and junctions with other watercourses should be investigated, based on field
observations and maps, in order to evaluate their impact on the resultant tail
water elevation.
Lacking these conditions, tail water elevations should be based on water
surface elevations in the natural channel.
 These elevations can be accurately determined from water
surface elevation calculations or estimated using simplified approximations of
water depth.
 For most culvert installations, an approximation is sufficient.
e) Upstream Storage.
 The storage capacity available upstream from a culvert may have an
impact upon its design.
 Upstream storage capacity can be obtained from large scale contour
maps of the upstream area, but a 0.5 m (2-foot) contour interval map is desirable.
 If such maps are not available, a number of cross sections should be obtained
upstream of the proposed culvert.
 These sections must be referenced horizontally as well as vertically.
 The length of upstream channel to be cross-sectioned will depend on the
headwater expected and the stream slope.
The cross sections can be used to develop contour maps or the cross sectional areas
can be used to compute storage.
The topographic information should extend from the channel
bed upward to an elevation equal to at least the design headwater elevation in the area
upstream of the culvert.
Roadway Data.
The proposed or existing roadway affects the culvert cost, hydraulic
capacity, and alignment.
Roadway profile and the roadway cross section information can be
obtained from preliminary roadway drawings or from standard details on roadway
sections.
When the culvert must be sized prior to the development of preliminary plans, a best
estimate of the roadway section can be used, but the culvert design must be checked
after the roadway plans are completed.
a. Cross Section.
The roadway cross section normal to the centerline is typically available from
highway plans.
 However, the cross section needed by the culvert designer is the section at
the stream crossing.
 This section may be skewed with reference to the roadway centerline.
 For a proposed culvert, the roadway plan, profile, and cross-sectional data
should be combined as necessary to obtain this desired section.
b. Culvert Length.
Important dimensions and features of the culvert will become evident
when the desired roadway cross section is measured or established.
The dimensions are obtained by superimposing the estimated culvert
barrel on the roadway cross section and the streambed profile.
This superposition establishes the inlet and outlet invert elevations.
These elevations and the resulting culvert length are approximate since
the final culvert barrel size must still be determined.
c. Longitudinal Roadway Profile.

The roadway profile represents the obstruction encountered by the

flowing stream.
The embankment containing the culvert acts much like a dam.
 The culvert is similar to the normal release structure, and the roadway
crest acts as an emergency spillway in the event that the upstream pool
(headwater) attains a sufficient elevation.
The profile contained in highway plans generally represents the roadway
centerline profile.
These elevations may not represent the high point in the highway cross section.
The culvert designer should extract the profile which establishes roadway
flooding and roadway overflow elevations from the highway plans available.
The low point of the profile is of critical importance, since this is the point at
which roadway overtopping will first occur.
5. Design Headwater.
The most economical culvert is one which would use all of the available
headwater to pass the design discharge. Since the discharge capacity increases
with increasing head, the available headwater elevation must be determined.
This design headwater elevation generally hinges on one of three factors;
economic considerations, regulatory constraints, or arbitrary constraints.
An increase in available headwater can be obtained at some sites by depressing
(burying) the culvert inlet.
This procedure is advantageous for steep culverts which operate under inlet
control.
Additional information on this procedure is contained in Chapter 3.
Economic Considerations.
As ponding elevations increase upstream from a culvert, detrimental economic
consequences can occur.
Although for major structures it may be advantageous to perform a flood risk
analysis site-specific constraints are sometimes adopted in lieu of a full risk
analysis.
Such constraints are based on some designated elevation that is not to be exceeded
within a specified return period.
This elevation may correspond to some critical point on the roadway such as the
roadway shoulder or the roadway overtopping elevation.
Another criteria might be the flood damage elevation of an upstream building.
Possible loss of life and the importance of the highway are likewise considered.
While all of these factors pertain to risk analysis, a detailed risk analysis is
generally not performed.
b. Regulatory Constraints.
The requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program are a major
consideration in culvert design.
Most communities are now participating in this program.
The limitation on flood plain construction as it affects the base (100-year) flood
elevation is of primary importance.
Depending upon the culvert location, existing floodway encroachments, and
whether there is a specified floodway, the allowable water surface elevation
increase varies from 0 to 0.3 m (1 foot).
Regardless of the return period utilized in the culvert design for the particular
roadway, the 100-year return period flood must be checked to ascertain the
effects of the culvert on the base flood elevation.
c. Arbitrary Constraints.
Some state or local agencies place arbitrary constraints on the headwater
produced by a culvert.
For example, the headwater depth may not be allowed to exceed the barrel
height or some multiple of the barrel height.
Although these constraints will severely limit the flexibility inherent in culvert
design, they must be followed unless the controlling agency can be convinced to
relax the restrictions or grant an exemption.
C. Summary of Data Needs.
Table 3 summarizes the various data needed for culvert design.
*Generally use computer models
* HEC-RAS
*Flow Zones

Loss methods in Zone 2

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