RESERVE

RESERVE COpy
C0Pl
.~

UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
MINNESOTA
ST. ANTHONY FALLS
ST. ANTHONY HYDRAULIC LABORATORY
FALLS HYDRAULIC LABORATORY
LORENZ
TORENZ G.
G. STRAUB,
STRAUB, Director
Director

Technicai
Technical Paper No. 13,
i3, SeriesB
Series B

Design
Importance of Inlet Design
Importance
on Culvert Capacity
Limited
timited Distribution Preprint
Preprint of
oI Paper
Poper Presented
Presented Before
Before
. 32nd
32nd Annual
Annucl Meeting,
Meeting, Highway
Highwcy Research
Reseqrch Board
Bocrd in Washington,
Wcshington, D.C.,
D.C., January 16, 1953
]cnucry 16, 1953

by

LORENZ
IORENZ G.
G. STRAUB,
STRAUB,
ALVIN
ATVIN G.
G. ANDERSON,
ANDERSON,
qnd
and
CHARLES
CHARTES E.
E. BOWERS
BOWERS

January,
|anuary, 1953
1953
Minneapolis,
Minneopolis, Minnesota
Minnesotc
 UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
MINNESOTA
ST. ANTHONY FALLS
ST. ANTHONY FALLS HYDRAULIC
HYDRAULIC LABORATORY
LABORATORY
LORENZ
TORENZ G.
G. STRAUB,
STRAUB, Director
Director

Technical Paper
Technical Pcper No.
No. 13,
13, Series
Series B

Importance of Inlet Design

Importance Desig'n
on Culvert
Culvert Capacity
Limited Distribution Preprint
Preprint of Paper
Pcper Presented
Presented Before
Before
32nd Annual
32nd Annucl Meeting,
Meeting, Highway
Highwcy Research
Hesearch Board
Boqrd in Washington,
Wcshington, D.C.,
D.C., January
Jcnucry 16,
16, 1953
1953

by

LORENZ
LORENZ G.
G. STRAUB,
STRAUB,
ALVIN
ATVIN G.
G. ANDERSON,
ANDERSON,
and
ond
CHARLES
CHARTES E.
E. BOWERS
BOWERS

January,
Jcnucry, 1953
1953
Minneapolis,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
 4A BE SsT! RAe
E A Tg 3
The d.esign
?he design of
of a eulvert
culvert inlet
inlet has significant bearing
has a significant upon the
bearing upon the
relationship of
relationship of the
the head
he ad to
to the
the diseharge of a eulvert.
discharge of culvert. Its relative impor-
Its relative impor-
tance hinges
tance hinges upon the
the t;pe
t ype of
of flow occurring in
flow oeeuring in the which in
culvert, which
the culvert, turn is
in turn is
governed by
governed by the
the location
location of
of the
the control
control seetion.
section. For part-full
For part-full flow the con-
flow the con-
trol nay
trol may be
be either
eithe r at
at the
the inlet
inlet or
or the
the outlet
outlet depending whether the
depending on whether the sl-ope
slope
is hydraulieally
is hydraulically steep
steep or
or mild.
mild. In the
fn case of
the ease of short
short eulverts, control may
c"ulverts, control may
at the
be at the inlet
inlet even
even for
for horizontal
horizontal or
or rnild
mild slopes.
slop es. For
For firIl flow, barrel
full flow, barrel
friction provi-des
frietion provides the
the eontrol'
control.

The head.-diseharge
The head-discharge curves of culverts
eurves of eulverts having square-edge inlets
having square-edge inlets
have been compared
havebeen with those for
eompared.withthose for culverts having rounded
culverts havi.ng inlets
rounded inlets to illustrate
to illustrate
the
the conditions
eondi-tions for
for which
which a head-advantage
head-advantage may
may be ob tained by
obtained using a rounded
by usj-ng rounded
inlet
in1et. . These
These comparisons have been made
madefor
for three
three categories of ceulvert
eategories of florryl
ulvert flow:
llong
ong culverts
errlverts on steep slopes, long
steepslopes, long culverts
culverts on mild slopes,
onnild and short
slopes, and er:.1verts.
short culverts.
Dimensionless
Dimensionless head-discharge
head-clischarge curves
curves have been fortulvert
plotted for
treenplotted ·culvert flow in each
florry in
ceategory.
a tegory. For
For cu lverts on steep
culverts steep slopes,
slopes, eexperimental data have been compared
xp erimental data compared
wi th the
with the computed values
values and, since
since the was reasonab
the agreement was reasonably goodr serve
l y good, aerve
as aa basis
basis for
for the
the analysis
analysis of
of flow
flow in
in culverts
eulverts operating under
operating conditions
under conditions
other
other than those
those for
for which
which the tests made.
tests were made.

The
The greatest
greatest head-advantage
head-advantage for particular
for aa particular discharge of the
discharge of rounded
the rounded
inlet
inlet over
over that
that of
of aa square-edge
square-edge inlet
inlet was
was found for those
found for ln which
cases in
those cases which the
the
control
control section
seetion was
rqas located
located at
at the inlet.
inlet. These were
These long culverts
were long on steep
culverts on steep
slopes
slopes or
or short
short culverts
eulverts where
rvhere the
the length
length was
was negligible.
negligible" For long culverts
For long er:lverts
on
on mild
raild slopes,
slopes, the
the head-advantage
head-advantage was
was far
far less pronounced"
less pronounced.

ii
l_l-
...

'.

g ,9I gIs
CONTENTS
Page
Pac,a

Abstract
A b s ••t •r • •a • •e • t• . . . r . r . . . , , . i iii
List
L i soft Illustrations
o f l l I u s t f a t l o n s . o . . 3 . , . r . . iv
1V

I.
r. INTRODUCTION
I N T R 0 D U C T rI o ... . ...
0 .I .{ r. ,. .. 1
't

II.
II. CULVFJlTS
CUI,VFATS 'WITH
]NTH ·FREE
}?EE OUTLETS
OUTLETS 4ql r

III.
III. CULVERTS
CUI.VERTSVrITH
wIfTI FREE OIIT],ETSON
FREE OUTLETS OI.ISTEEP
STSmEPSLOPES
SIOPES 5
rv.
IV. cllT,vEltTsVJITH
CULVERTS tr?'rrHFREE
FnEn OFTLETS Alill HORIZONTAL
0r$'LgTsAND HORIZ0NT,1.L
0R MILD
OR I.iItD SLOPES
stOPEs . , 9
a

v •.
V T c I n v n R T ,s,
s H 0 RCUI,VERTS
SHORT .,.. ...... .... 11

Acknowledgment
Achrowledgnent , . , a a a a a a ..........
a a t a a 12
72
'l?
Appendix - Figures to 8
Figures 1I to B . 13

iii
l-Lt-
 '.

ILIS
, I S TT oF
Q ILL
T t I UU SS T R A g IION
T RAT ! I gS
'Page
Figure
Flgrre "Page
'rL
1I Variable-Slope
Variable-$lope Culvert Model
Culvert Model a t a 14
ra+

I2 Equipment and
Equipment Inlets llsed
anC fnlets Used in
in M odel Tests
l-{odel Tests 15
ttr

31 Critical
Critieal Culvert
Culvert Slope
Slope as
as a Function of Depth
Funetion of Depth • ... 16
16

4.+
t
I t
Typical
$rpical Flow Conditions
Conditions for
for Square-edge Inlet
Square-edge Inlet 17
1 n
t l

5
L
Typical
Tycical Flow Conditions
Conditions for
for Rounded
R o ' m d e Inlet
d I n l e t•. .• • i. 18
1B

6A Comparison
Conrparison of
of Head-Discharge
Head-Discharge Curves
Cr:rves for
for Square-edge
Square-edge and Rounded
and Rounded
Inlets (Long Culvert on Steep
Inlets(fongCulvertonSteepSlope) Slope) •
. . •
. •
r . •
' . .•••
o • • •• 19
L9

7t Comparison
Comparison of of Head-Discharge
l{ead-}iseharge Curves Curves forfor Square-edge
Squar*-i** and Rounded
and Rounded
Inlets
f n l e t s ((Long
l o n g Culvert
C u l v e r on
t o nMild
M i l -Slope)
d S l o p •oe .)• •o •' . .• • • • . . . ••'
•• 20
20

8a Comparison of
of Head-Discharge
}lead-Discharge Curves for
for Square-edge
Square-edge and Rounded
Roundecl
Inlets
Inlets (Short
(Short Culvert--Control
Culvert--Control at
at Inlet)
Inlet) • • • • • •• •• 2t
21

iv
1V
 IMP
I } S F !0 5 1 4 { CsEE !o gF rI gN LET
R TAN gglqg
! r 1 !DESIGN
ONe
O H CU I ILTV, EV RATeA
R TC A PAC
P A C I TT?YY

r"
1. INTRODUCTION
IH?RODUCTION

Froma
From a practical point of view,
practical point nost serious deficiency
vierr, probably the most defieiency
in pLanning of
in the planning of simple culverts
errlverts used in highways
used in is in
highways is in the culvert
culvert inleL
inl-et.
All too frequently
All frequently the culvert is assumed
culvert is assurnedto
to have
have much greater capacity
much greater capacity than,
in fact
in fact, , it
it has, thls reduction
has; this tn capacity
reduction in is frequently
capacity is
.
attributable to
freqrrently attributable to
inadequacy of
inadequacy of the culvert lnlet"
culvert inlet.

Quite generally,
generally, the deficiencies of the inlet
deficienei-es of inlet are thought of only
in terms
in terms of their
their effect upon the head
effect upon loss; in
head loss, in reality
real-ity this
this effect
effect is
is of
of
relativel-y minor
relatively ninor importance
ircportanee in
in differentiating
differentiating good inlets
between good
between inl-ets and
and the
ppoorest inlets customarily
oorest inlets eustomarily used. The important
used" The inrportant consideration is the overall
eonsirieration is overall
hydraul-ics of
hydraulics of the ceulvert in conveying
ulvert in eonveying run-off'
run*off from one side
frora one side of an
an embankment
embanlsnent
to the other
to other, ~ without
~athout impairing
irapairing the roadway overflos during
roadrray by overflow during high
high rates
rates of
of
run-off"
run- (supplernenting this
off. (Supplementing this paper are
sre moving pietnres demonstrating
moving pictures qris]1-
demonstrating quali-
tatlvely and
tatively quantttatlveiy
and quanti pertinent conditions
tatively the pertinent eonditl-ons involved.)
involved,)

In general,
In gene r a l ~ the ob
objective in designing
jective in cSeslgningaa culvert
eulvert is
is to
to provide aa
struc whieh will,
ture which
structure r:nder the conditions
wi11, under eonditions imposed,
imposed, discharge given flow
dtscharge aa given flow
with
wi least head
th the least if the head
head;, if' ancl discharge are spec
head and i fied, the objective
specifledu o'bjeetive
is to
is provide the most
to provide most ec onomical culvert
econor':ica1 whieh, normally,
culvert which, norma1ly, is
is one
one with
with the
least cross-sectional
least area,
cross-sectional area.

fhe factors
The fact,ors which
whieh combine
combine to
to determine
deterrmine the character
character of flow
f'tow in
in aa
culvert inclrrde all
culvert include al-l the design variables:
variables; slope, size,
size, shape,
shape, length,
length, and
and
roughness of the culvert
roughness of eu3.vertu
, the headwater and tailwater
headwater and tailwater elevations,
elevations, and
and inlet
inlet
and outlet
and geonetry" A convenient hydraulic
outlet geometry. hydraulic classification
classification of culverts
eulverts is
is
basedon locat,ion of the culvert
based on the location control which
culvert control is, in
which is, i-n turn,
turn, determined
deterndned by
relative magnitudes
the relative magnitudes of
of the design
design variables.
variables" The prineipal
The principal flow
flow charac-
eharae*
teristlcs s ~re
teristic location of the
deternined by location
Are determined the culvert
culvert control
control either
either at the in-
ln*
letu the outlet,
let, outlet, or in
in the bamel
barrel because friction"
becarrse of friction.

Whenthe culvert
When inlet serves as
culvert inlet as aa control
eontrol section,
section, the relationship
relationship
between head
between head and
and discharge is
is independent of t.he characteristics
ihe characteristics of the barrel
of barrel
outl-et and
or outlet and depends
depends only
only upon geometry of
upon the geometry of the inlet.
inlet" For culverts
eul-verts on
on
aa mild
nild slope, partly full,
flowing partly
slope, flowing ful-l, the control is at the outlet
control is or:tlet and
anct the head-
discharge relationship
discharge relatlonshlp dependsupon
depends upon the characteristics
eharacteristies of
of the barrel
barrel- as
as well
sel-l-
...

'il}:en
as geonetrlrofof the inlet.
as the geometr; inlet. When tthe
he culvert
culvert flm'Js
flo'.:is full,
ful1, uIlless
unless it
it is
is ve:rJ
very
sshort, barrel fricti
hort, the barrel frj ction providess tthe
on provide he control anC the
eontrol and the head - dischar ge curve
]reacl-discharge eur"ve
is r:pon all
is dependent upon of the ddesign
al-l of esign vari ables.
varia'bles.

The importance
The importance of inl-et design
of inlet design as
as related
relateri to
to culvert
cul-vert capacity
capaelty hinges
hinges
to
to aa large
large extent
extent upon position of
upon the position of the control
control section.
section. For inlet
1n1e'b control,
eontrol,
he geometry of
tthe the iinlet
of the nl et has aa ver
verX'
J sig nific ant iir$luence
signilicant ~iluence upon
upon the
t}:e hlteaci
ead rrr:-
e-
quired for
quired glven discharge.
for aa given discharge. A square-edge
sqrrare-edge inlet
inl-et causes separa t:i,on to
separation to occ ur
oeerr
at the
at the entrance inhibits
entrance and inhibits full
full" flow
flow in
in the culvert.
culvert. A pproperl"
roperly rounded
rour,ded
inlet, on the
inlet, the othe
otherr hanel
hancl, avoj-ds tl18
, avoids tlrc separati anrl ~)pronotes
on and
separa.tion rom.otes fu
fullll ntilization
rrtiU-zation
of the
of the barrel
barrel for
for flow.
fIovr. As aE- result
As resrllt of
of the availabHity
availa'bi-'1if,rr of
er^ additional
aclCi"tional bead
heaci
in the
in the culvert,
culvert, the reqrd.red
reqr:i-red- water
vrater ssrrrface
urface elevation
elevationin in the
the headwate r ;')lool
heacin'ater 001 is
is
reduced--frequently
reCrreed--frequently ver1' sif!,ni
very f icantly reduced
sigruificantly red'.rced.. f.ilhan
Yfuen tthe
he control
cgntrol is
is at
at the
the
outlet or when
outlet or vrhen barrel
barrel friction
frretion acts
aets as
as the
the control,
eontrol, the
the geometry
geonetry of tthe
he inlet
inlet
become
beconess far less significant.
far less significant.

A comprehensive
corprehensive discc1ssion
clisc'rssion of
of cl11vert
er:lvert entrances
entranees would
worrld necessarily
neeessarily
be rrather lengthy because of
athe r lengthy of the
the many
nany tt;pes involvetl.
ypes involved. For
For example,
exanple, the
the culvert
cr,:"lvert
na;; have
may irave aa rounded, beve-l.ed, square,
roundeC, beveled, sq'rare, or
or b ell-mouthed inlet.
bel-1-nolrf,hsd inlet. It
Tt may tre in
rnay he in aa
'be
Ceflned or
defined or an undefi ned channe
nnclefiltecl J..
channe-l-. It may
It na;r b e installed
insta]-lled" with
vrith the
the inlet
inlet flush
flr:-sh. or
or
protruclinil (reentrant)
protruding (reentrant) trrrou gh aa vertic
tfrror;L; verticala l or sloping
sloping headwall.
head'n'all. Wing
Wing walls
wa1ls or
warped transitions
transitions narv be
may br: utili zed.
util-izecl. In
In most
nost instances
instances ttlrese
l-!ese variations
variations will
vril1
have a bearing
bearinG on the
the culvert
culvert ccapacity.
ap acity. The
The ssquare-eCge
quare-edge inlet
inl-ei, and
ancr,the ro unded
tlre ror:nried.
inlet represent,
inlet represent, in
in a sens e , two
sense, tr,vo extremes of inlet
extrernes of geornetry.
inlet geomet:rJ. It
It app ears that
appears tirat
culverts
culverts constructed
constructed of
of commercial
conrnercial- concret
concretee or corrugated pipe
or corrr:gated vroulC possess
pipe would possess
inlets
inlets that fal1 somewhere
that fall t he two limits.
somewhere between tire limits. elrrves presentecl
The curves
The presented in
in
this paper represent
this (for tfhe
represent (for he case
ease of
of a flus
flusirh headw'all)
headwall) these two extremes
ttrese t'wo extrenes of
of
headdiseharge
head-discharge ceurves,
urves, with
vtith the
tire curves
er-rrves for
for other ty-ces falling
other types falling hbetween.
etween.

Experimental
Experinenia-l anrl ana}~rtical investigat'i
and ana,-!,-.'tieal investigations for several
ons have for y ears
several :iears
been unCertaken at the
undertaken at the St.
st. Anthon..r Falls liyCrarrlic
Anthony Falls Laboratory, T'niversit;'
HydralJlic laboratory, University 61 of
L'ij-nnesota,
Minnesota, for the prrrpose
for the purpose of
of str:dl'inrl
stlldying specific
s pe cific hyCraulic c ha ra~teristics on
hydraulic charaeteristies
~-
both fu1l-sca1e
both full-scale cu-lverts of .rario'.r-s
culverts of variolls rorrghne"."r*
ron ghnesses d1mensions (up to
and cli-nensions
anC 3 ft
to 3 ft in
in
diameter)
diameter) and on srnaller
smaller scale
scale rnodels.
mod els. Tests r*rith
Tests with specifie
specific regard
re gard to
to entrance
entrance

'*Lo*"rr"
~~Lorenz G. Straub
Straub anC
and llenry
Henry lJ.
M. l.foruis,
ltorris, Fl,vclraulie
Hydraulic Data
Data Corcnarison
Comparison of
of Con-
Con-
crete
crete gna=cgrruqr*
and Corru<tated Metal C1.1.1vert Pi es (Paper No.3), Hydraul:\-c Tests on
,(Faper-T6;l@
Concrete Culvert Pip es Paper No.. [), ,and
anri l{yciraulic
Hydraulic Tests
Te sts o@
on Corrugated Metal
Cu lvert Pipes (PaperNo. 5), univer:sit;rof
ffi.5), University of Minnesota, St. Anthony Falls Hydrau-
lic Laboratory Technical Papers,
ffi-ffiy Papers, Series B, Ju1.r., I95o,
July , 1950.
.
3
. )

conditions of culverts
conditlons of eulverts were
were con
condueted r,rnderthe
ducted under the sponsorship
sponsorship of
of the
the Minnesota
Minnesota
State Highway Department
State Highway Department and
and the lJnited States
the United Bureau of
States Bureau of Public
Publie Roads. *
noads.tt These
These
have been supplemented
have been by student
supplernentedby strrdent thesis
thesis research.
researeh. ft is
It is this
this experimental
experirnental-
research on inlet
researeh on i-nlet conditions
conditions that
that forms
forns the basis
basis of
of the prp"r.*
the present paper. **
Description of
General Description
General of, Tests
?ests
The experimenta1
The investigation was
experjmental. investigation was conducted
condueted in
i-n a.n
an apparatus
apparatus con-
eon-
structed primarily for
stmcted primarily for studies of this It consists
this type. It eonsists of aa channel 12 in.
ehannel 12 in.
deep, 30
deep, 30 in. wider and
in' wide, and 50 ft long in
50 ft in which
whieh culvert
cuLvert models ,of various sizes
nodels.of
can be installed.
can be 1nstal1ed. The
The upstream
upstream lO-ft
10-ft sect3.on ls separated
secttron is separated from
frorn the remainder
remainder
of the channel by aa transverse
transverse bulkhead which
vrhieh normally
nornally forms
forrns the headwall of
culvert.
the culvert. This has walls
Thj-s section has walls 28
28 in.
in. high, as
as compared
corpered with 12 inches
with 12 lnehes
in the remainder
in remainder of the channel, permit variation
ehannel, ttoo permit variatlon of the head pootr eleva-
head pool eleva-
tion.
tion. A second
second'bulkhead is installed
'bulkhead is installedinthe
in the channel
channel at the outlet
ortlet end
end of the
culvert raodel. The
culvert mOdel. The slope of the complete
complete unit ean be
unit can be varied
varied from 00 to 10
1-0per
cent.
cent. Figures 1I and
and 2 illus
illustrate
tra te the basic equipment.
equipnrent. The
The model
nodel used
used in
in the
studies was
studies was constructed
constructed of 4-in. Lueite
lr..i,n. diameter Luci pipe and
te pipe and had
had an
an overall
overal]- length
length
of 35 ft.
of ft. The ends
The pipe were
of the pipe
end.s of were flush
flush with
with the bulkheads
bul-kheads which formed
forrned the
end walls of
end walls of the culvert.
eulvert. The inlet section
The inlet section was
was removab le so that
removable that sq\tare
sqgare and
and.
rounded inlets ,could
rounded inlets c ould be interchanged.
be interchanged. Piezometers were
Piezometers nere located
located at
at frequent
frequent
intenrals
intervals along
alo~g the culvert for pressure measurements.
cuLvert for measurements. . . ,
The
The rounded
rounded inlet
inlet used in these tests
used in tests had
had aa radius
radius of
of ronnding
rounding equal
to 15 per cent
to of ' the pipe diameter.
cent of
Jn
In an earlj-er series of
earlier series of tests,
tests, the
th¢ eulvertwas
culvert was testedwith
tested with both the
the
inlet
inlet and
and outlet
outlet sr:bmerged in order
submerged in to obtain
order to obtain data on fnj-cttonal
frictional losses
losses and
entranee
entrance loss
loss coefficients
coefficients for full flow.
for fulI flow. However,
H0trever, ln
in the series
serie$ of
of tests
tests here
eoneerned
concerned the outlet
outlet was
was completely
completely free.
free.
lata
:Data were obtained
obtained on the height of
the helght of the
the head
head pool
pool above
above the
the tnlet
inlet
lnvert for varlations
invert for variations in
in inlet
inlet type, discbarge, and eulvert
type, f,i.scharge, culvert sIope,
slope. When ttre
Wnen the
culvert
culvert flowed
flowed fulI
full for
for at least a portion
at least portion of the length,
of the length,such sometimes
such as sornetimes
occurred when
oeeurred. using a rounded in1et,
when using inlet, data
data on the hydraulic gredient
the hydrauLie gradient and the
the
nagnitude of pressure
magnitude of pressure fl-uctuations
fluctuations were obtalned.
obtained.

*Unpublished' except for

*Unpublished
for projeet
project reports.
rep orts.
*Th*t"
**There will
will also
also be issued
issued for
for linltecJ
limited d:istribution
distribution through
through the
the sponsor
a project
project report
report of
of the
the St.
St. Ant'trony
Anthony Fa11s Laboratory giving
Falls Laboratory giving the
the results
results of
of the
the
culvert
culvert inlet
inlet experiments i-nin nore
more detail.
detail.
 ''j1TTi:l
II.
II" CUINERTS WITH
CULI'TERTS FRE.9 ODTIJi~TS
FREE OIITT,ETS

A culvert
cuJ-vert may
:a;r flow
flovr either
either full
fi:11- or
or partly f'rl r r depending
nartly full, tmon the
crepenrring lJPOn
specific
specific hydraulic
i4rdrar:1ic conditions.
conditions. In
In part-full
irart-full, flow,
florv, the culvert behaves as an
c':lvert behaves an
open channel
ehannel with
with aa free
free surface,
$urface, tbe
the depth
Cepth of
of flow
fl-ow beina:
beinc less
less than
than the
the verti-
verti-
cal
ca1 diameter
dianeter or
or heiGht
hei,qht of
of the
t,he cnlvert.
c:rlvert. In
In full
fi:-11 flow,
flow, the culvert
et:lvert behaves
behaves as
aa closed
closei conclui t or
eonclrrit or pipe.
pipe" The presslrre gradient
The preSS1Jre grrrlient then
then no
no longer
lonqer necessarily
neeessarily
coinclcles vn
coincides th the water
rrith water surface.
surface. lmen
iI/hen aa straight
straight culvert
c'rlvert flows
flovrs full,
fu1-1, the
fhe
r'^^'t"-^+^- -r^"^"r
headw -ater level is
r-gcl.!i€ ucl is of
of course
rg cor-lrseabove
ahove the croym
v.j! cro':,n of
of tre
t]:e culvert;
er;lrrert; nowever,
ho'trever, the
tlre cul-
crr,l--
vert
verl; does
Coes not
not necessarily
necessaril;' flow
flolv felll
f.ill ',ryhenthe
'JIJ"hen the headwater is above
hearh'rai,er is above the
the crown,
crorlnt,
even though this
thls height may be several
heightnaybe several times
tines the
the diameter
d-ianeter of the culvert.
ofthe cu.lvert. The
The
complete
complete range
r.?nge of
of hydraulic
hydraulic relationships
rel-ationshlps between discharge
Cischarge and
anC. head
head on the
the
culvert j-ncludes both
eulvert includes part-fulI
both part-full and
ancl full
fuIl flow
flcrvrr conditions,
eonditions, and
md the
the different
d.ifferent
typ es of
t;pes of flow
flo'rv follow
follolv different
dif ferent algebraic
a,lgebr:ie relationships.
relationships. These
These relationships
rel-ationships
can now qui-te adequately
nol1ibe quite arleq:ratelj' defined.
definecl .

For part-firl1- flo'"",

For part-full f1ow, the
the total
total energy
4fl€rg:r per unit weight
ner unit weight of
of water
water referred
referred
'uo
to tthe
he culvert
culvert invert
invert is is called
cal lerl the
thc specific
speeifi-e energy
energ;' HI-l^ and
anclmay
ma;' be wTi t ten as
ll'ritten
o

_ av 2I ( r\
Eo
6
-/ 2g ...
= - - - + C I
$
d (1)
...

where
nhere v is
is the
the mean
mean velocity,
veloeitlr,
d is
ls the
the depth,
clepth,
go
6
is
i q the
!D t.ho acceleration
rnaol az'-ct.i nn
urra au\,q due
rr"ro
LEr to
* . n gravity,
+zorri
c1 u!\/ri
f rt
l" and
rnrl I uv
Llr Gv r uJ
,
.rf,r.r

ao is
is a kinetic
kinetic energy
errerff correction
eorreetion factorfactor the the numerical
nurnerical value
val,ue of
of which
vrhich
rJenends l~pon
depends rlnon the
t,he velocity ''l'i-stribr.rl,ion over the
rrel oni tr. distribution the cross
eross section.
section.
(For uniform
unifor:-r velocity
velocit;' distribution,
Ci-stribrrtion, ac is rnitl'.)
is unity.)

mhe ;n
The ni:TIUr:! value
ninim::r value of
of tIle
the specific
spccific energy
energjr corresponds
corresl-roncis to
to the
ihe critical
critical f l,ol'r con-
flow eon-
'i:-tions,
~~t ions, for
for which
rrhj-eh it
it can he sho1Jm
ean 1")8 sl,olm analytically
anal;rt,ical1y

n2
w
= (2)
\1)
g ab
al:

where
where Q
a is the
is t.ha discharge,
di qnlr.cFoa .

A the cross-sectional
is t,he cross-sectional- area
erea of the f10·w,
of the floln', and
and

b i is
s the surfaee -width.
the surface wiclth.
 ,5

In ord.er
In order to to eliminate
eliminate Q, ifif Eq" Eq. {2)(2) is is corobined
combined with the r{anni,ng
with the Manning formula
forrnrla
i'- Q
- ^= ! 1 t ^ / t \ ^ - z / z - r / l
2 12
Sc" * '/- l Jl a ] p r e s s i.o n rresu
l
LQ
-- ((1.486/n)
\ 1 . 1 + 8 6 / n ) AR2/3
An''' S ann eexpresslon e s u It
f t ss for
f'
~or th e critieal
the crl. t'lca lslor:e
sI oped and
an
may be rryitten
mav written as

s" n 1 /3 268_ _1R' to)

--?-
2 "o26g
= :::.5
C_A/_IA...;;o_)-r"""!f7."
- fe\
7-n 2 a ,r1r)r"/:r"/Wu
(b/d )(R/R )4/3
o

In thi-s
In this equatiorr
equation S is
S. is the criti-cal slope of
critical s1.o;:e culvert, D is
of the culveri, is the cl-lvert
culvert
c
diameter, n is
dianeter, the lvhnning
is thJ :M.anning roughness coefficient, A anC
rouGhness ccefficient, Ao are respee-
and Ao respec-
cross-sectional areas
tively the cross-sectional
tively a reas ofof the
the florE stream and
flow stream and the entire
entire ctllvert,
culvert,
and E
and Rn
and R-
Rand are respectively tire
are respectivelll the h1'fl13u1-icra di i of
hydraulic raCii of the flow stream and
flow strean and
se~tion.
v 6 - l^
2 ))
the eulvert
the culvert section. In Fig.
In 3,
Fig. l, has been plottedas
hasS /(n /Dl/3)
plotted as a fr-rnetion
S^/(nt/n'/ function
c
of
of d/D.
,1/D. For very small
For very snall depths
depths and for
for depths
riepths approaching
approachir magnituCe of
t he magnitude
the of
the culvert
the diameter, the
culvert diarneter, the critical
critical slope b ec ome s quite
slope becornes quite large,
large, hut
but over the
over the
wide intermediate
wiCe intermediate normal
normal rran€je of part-full
ange of part-full flow
flow conditions throug h the
conclitions through the culvert
c'.:h.'ert
the critieal
the critical slope varies wi
slope varies thin narrosrer
within narrower limits.
limits" If
If the
the slope
slope is greater
is greater
than
than Sc
S^ [Eq. (l)l
i fq,* (3)],
' - , thethe flow
flow inin the sr:l-vert win
ths culvert will be supercritical
be supercritical aanrJ
nd the
c L r'
depth
depth less
less than
than criticaL
critical. If
Tf the
the slope
slope isis less than S
less than S",, the rvil1 he
flow will
the flow be
c
subcri tical and the
subcritical the depth
depth greater
srea.ter than
than criticaL
critical"
a

III ',,!TTH
III .." CULVERTS
CTILVffiTTSWI TH FREE
FREA OUTLETS
ft]TI,gTg ON
C}NSTEEP
STERP SLOPES
SI,OPES

t,|e case
In the easeof culverts with steep slopes [ttn.t
steep slopes iu,
that is, S>
S> 'Sc (r'ig.:)l
S^ (Fig. 3) J
the transition from
the transition from subcritical in the
subcritlcal flow in the approach ehannel to ih*
*pptoact channel "trp*"i
the super-
ccritical
ri tical flow
flow in
in the
the culvert
culvert takes plaee at
ta]<es place at the
the culvert inlet
cr:l-uert inlet (figs,
(Figs. Lfa and 5a)
]+a and
and corresponds
corresponds to
to the
the condition
condition under
uncler whichEq. (2) applies.
which Eq. (2) applies. IIff we
s,'e assume
assi.Ime
tthat
hat the
the energy
ener$r loss
].oss ffron
rom the
the head
heacl pool to
to the
tl,e critical
critlcal section
section is
is negl i gible,
neglidihle,
'Fe
re may
nay write
wrlte

aV
OV 2
* -E:
d
H
n
c + (lr)
(4)
D
D = 2gD -6v D

whe re from Eq. (2)

where {A/}t I

2oT'
-m
- - ' ?Tr -m7frr
A _
 6

For
For aa square-edge
square-eCge inlet
inlet (Fig. 4a),
(Fig. La), a
Q is
is dependent upon the
the degree
of
of contraction
contraction of
of the
ihe flow
fl-ow around
arounC the
the square
sqrrare edge
eclge and
ancl may
nav be written
written as

1
O
Q = ;C
= - (5)
\))
t
C

For aa fully
fully rounded inlet where
rounded inlet urhere no
no separation flow occurs,
of the flow
separation of oeeurs,
it will
it vrill be found that
be found that o == 1.0;
Q 1,0i that
that is, veloeity is
is, the velocity unif,orrn over the pipe
is unif.orm
cross sectj-on just
cross section insid.e the entrance.
just inside entrance,

The head-discharge
The eurves for
head-discharge curves part-fulI flow
for part-full flowfor
for rounded and square-
rounded and
edge inlets are shown
edge inlets in
shornrn Fig. 6.
in Fig. 5. The
The curves
eurves agree 'well with the experimental
agree well with experinental
datafor
data values of
for values upto
H/D up
H/D 1.2
about 1.
to about where H is
2 where is the head
headabove intert.
above the invert.

As the discharge
As diseharge increases,
inereases, the headwater
hearlwater elevation
elevation eventually
eventual-ly be-
comes higher
comes crrlvert crown
higher than the culvert and the flow
crorvn and florv will
vrill normally be in
nornally be in contact
eontaet
wa1l entirely
with the wall
'\-'lith entirely around periphery of the entrance.
around the periphery Jf the culvert
If e'.,rlvert
has aa square-edge
has inlet, separation at the corner "rill
square-edge inlet, vri1l cause
eause aa contraction
eontraetlon of
the jet (flg. 4b).
jet (Fig. l+b). If
ff in
in addition
addition the culvert is on
eulvert is on aa steep rlepth
steep slope, the depth
in the culvert
in will be
eulvert will in],et and
be less than at the inlet and the culvert
eulvert will
wi1l not flow
f-]-orry
frrll.
full. Hence, inlet operates
Hence, the inlet in the same
operates in nanner as
sane manner an orifice.
as an orifiee. The equation
The eqrration
Ciseharge through
forr the discharge
fo an orifice
thro,,rgl: an orlfiee r:nder low heads
under heads may
..be
r*y ir. as
lvritten as
written

r\T/2 r
Q
12" (- --2/ l .I 11 IIl
ll
H
11/2
;s72
w =
= f, 1
C r i2s (i{
T '. - -
-) ~
- . (6)
(6)
J)
c '4
U 4
a D
2 l'- uurr/;w]
128(H/D _ 1/2)2J

The term
The ter:n in
in braekets rej'rresents the effect
brackets represents effect of head
head on veloeity
on the velocity
dlstribution in
distribution orifiee, partie'.rl-ar1y
in the orifice, particularly forfor low heads,
heads, and rnay be
and may be considered
as aa coefficient
as velocity such
coeffit:ient of velocity tLrat
such that

I1 lI
(z)
cv = [ r -
l- 128(H/D - 1/2)2 J
res(H/;;/T)

wh ich value
which value rapidly
rapidly approaches
approaehes unity
uni[r with
with increase
inerease in
in head. The
The coefficient
coeffieient
of
of contraction
contraction also
also varies
varies sOIJewhat
sonelrrhat with
with the
the head
head and
and may
nay be approximated
anproxinated '\:ly
h;r
aa consideration
eonsicleration of
of the
the geometry
geonetr;r of
of t,1le
the inlet
inlet and
and the heaci pool.
the head pool. The com},)11ted
eornnrrted
head-discharge
heari-discharge curve
curve for
for the
the sqlJare-edge
square-ed.ge inlet
inlet ffor
or values
values of
of II,/D >
H/D " l.L~
t.tr ',rrhen
when
the
the inlet
i-nlet acts
acts as an orifice
orifiee is
is ssffii'rn
msi-m in Fis. 6 as aa continuation
in Fig. eontinr:ation of
of the
the curve
e,.rrve
forr part-full
fo part-full flow
flow at
at the
the inlet.
inl-et,
 7

On
0n the
the other
other hand,
hancl, when
when the inlet
inlet is
is well
rn;ell rounded, separation at
separation at
the
the inlet
inlet does
does not
not occur (fig" 5b);
occur (Figo $b); consequently,
conseq':entb., the
the culvert innediately
begins imlnediately
crrlvertbegins
to
to flow
fl-ow full in the neighborhood
ful1inthe neighborhooC ofof the inlet.
inlet" The zone
The zone of
of full g1n* rapidly
frrll flow rapidly
extends
extends down
dcr,ynthe culvert
c'rlvert toward
to'ward the
the outlet
outlet. 0 In process of
In the process of moving
rnoving toward
to'nrard
the
the outlet,
ouilet, an added
added head due
dr:,e to
to the
the slope
slope of
of the
the culvert becomes effective.
culvert becr:mes effective"
This
This added
acided head tends
tends to
to increase
increase the discharge in the
rliseharge in the culvert a}:ove that
culvert above that of
of
the
the inflow to the
inflorinto the approach channel.
channel, The
The increased
increased discharge calrses aa lowering
discharge causes lowering
,
of
of the
the water surface just
water surface just upstream of
of the lnlet"
the inlet. When
l$Ihen the water surface
the water surface
approaches
approaches the
the culvert
culvert crOVffi,
crorfll, air
air is
is sucked into
into the
the culvert increases the
eu1'rert and increases the
pressure
pressure to
to atmos pheric.
afunospheric. This
This breaks
breaks the seal
seal and
anrl with
with the loss of
the loss of the addecl
the added
velocity
veloei$r head, the
the discharge
discharge decreases below
belosr that of the
that of inflow and
the inflow anrl the watev
the water
surface
surface rises
rises until
rrntil the inlet
inlet is
is again
again sealed
sealed and
and the cl11vert again starts
et:lvert again to
starts to
flow
fIo.'s full.
fu11" The
The cycle
cyele then
then repeats
repeats itself; pulsati.ng flow
itsel-f ; pulsating flow develops thro"rgh the
develops through the
culvert. ',4ihen
'JIJ'hen the pernit the rtslt:gtl to
the "slug" to extend
culvert. the discharge
Cisehar3e is
is large
large enough
enough to
to permit e:<tend
the entire
entire length
length of
of the
the culvert
culvert before
before the
the headwater is
is drawn down
down sufficiently
suffieiently
to permit the intake
to permit intake of
of air, rtsl'rgrr
air, the !'slug ll
or rlrnixedrrflow
or "mixed" phenoqena ceases
-florv phenomena ceases and
and
the
the culvert
culvert flows
flows full
fu11 continuously.
continrtorrsly. When
Ilhen the
the cl11vert
etrlvert is
is flowing
flowlng full,
ful1, the
the
head-discharge
head-dj-scharge relationship
relationship may
nay be determined
deternined by
by the
the application
applicaiion of
of Bernoulli
Bernoullirs i s
theorem to
to the
the flow
flow so that
that

H
'T
1] I- L
T
_"3- (1 (r ++ Kn* +. fr !:) (Cfirlz
f L
sinB
!
15D - "22 + 15D sine
- - - + --.".._8_
rr2 *)
D D5/2
Q )2 (B)
(8)
tr* •" g
g e D/t

where I
L is
is the length
len;th of
of culvert,
crrlvert,
e
I is
is the
the angle
angle of
of inclination
inclinat-'i on of
of the
the culvert
cul.rert from
frora the
the horizontal
horizontal- so
that
that S = sinB
S = sinSr,
f is
is the
the friction
frietion factor
faetor which
which for
for smooth
snooth culverts
culverts is
is aa function
ft:netion of
of
the
the Reynolds
Rq'nclds number,
num1rer, and
K is
is the
the entrance
entranee loss
loss coefficient
coefficient for
for full
full flowo
flow"
e
Inspection
fnspection of
of Eqo (B) indicates
Eq" (8) inaicates that
that for
for full
fu1l flow
flow the
the head-discharge
hearJ-discharge
curve
curve depends
depenCs upon slope,
slope, length,
length, and roughness
roughness of
of the
the cl11vert
ellvert aE\
as. well
rnre11as the
the
entrance
entranee loss;
loss; therefore
therefore the
the dimensionles
din:ensionlesss curve
eurve will
will be
tre different
d.ifferent for
for each
eaeh
culvert
culvert as
as well
well as for
for each
eaeh slope.
slope. In
fn these
these computations
eo*mrrtations the
the factors
faetors corres-
eorres-
pponding
onding to
to the
the experiments
experi:nents were used
useC in
in order
order that
that aa comparison
comparison "VIr:l.
wj-th th the
the
experimental
experinental results
results might be made
marle, Here
llere 0

e
= l/n
= 0008, = 105,
0,C8r and
L/T =and the K
K"
va lue of
value of f as aa function
function of
of Reynolds
Reynolds number,
numl:er, were obtained from previous
obtained from previous
 8

experiments
experlments on
on the
the same culvert
sane cul-vert. 0 In Fig" 6 aa comparison
In Fig" may be made
conparison may macle of
of the
the
effect
effect on the
the head-discharge
head-discharge curve
curve of
of rounding
rounding the inlet
the inlet corners" 0
corners It
It is
is
apparent
apparent that
that for
for headwater
headwater elevation
elevation above the
the crown
ero'sn of
of the
the culvert,
e-,r1veri, aa very
very
pronounced advantage
pronounced advantage in
in the head
heaC which
vhich is
is required
reqrri-red to given discharge,
to pass aa given discharge,
accrues to
to the
the culvert
culvert with
with the
the rounded inlet
inlet, 0 In
In the
the region 1!fhere the
region'nhere the flow
flow
passes through
thror:.gh critical
critical at
at the
the inlet (ttiat is,
inl-et (that is, H/D<< 10
HID 5), the
1.5), the head-advantage
head*advantage
in
i-n aa rounded inlet
inlet is less pronouneed"
is less pronounced.

Example of
of Culvert
Culvert Flow
Flow on Steep Slopes
Slopes
In
In order
order to
to illustrate
il-lustrate the
the foregoing prineiples,
foregoing principles, assume
assurre that pre-
that aa pre-
fab ricated concrete
fabricated c'.rlvert 3
concrete culvert 3 ft
ft in
in diameter
Cianeter and 300 ft long
JCO ft long is
is to
to be laid
laid on
aa hl, per
s q npr cent
u eent slope
v slone to
r to discharge
r-rise].arr"eIho
il-rO cfs Asstme further
cfs"0 Assume frtrther that
that the outlet
outl-et is
is
ffree
ree and that
that aa headwall
headwalJ-at-bhe eniranee provides
at the entrance provides a flush
f}:sh inlet.
in1et" For the
For the con-
con*
ccrete pipe the
rete pipe the following
follor'ving factors
factcrs apply:
apply:

L * -lnn
!
Q
.q
=
==
== 100 Y.u
u
D
iF2
1\//'

n (partl-y ffr:l]
(partly flow);~ = 0.010
ull fiour)r O.O1O
~!..

f (full flow)'r = 00015

(fitll flow)" 0.015 (n == 00011
O"Oll- approximately)
annroximarely)

S = 578
T l : e factor
The factor dsTT=,= $ 47P'
2
n zI
n p ' /
'Dl13 3 ( o " o r o ) ' / e . c ) \/3''".
i s considerab
is eonsj-derably greater than
ly greater than the
the values given in
values given Fig" 3
in Fig" J for
for the
the critical
eritlcal slope
slope
throughout
throughout the greater portion
t}:e greater portion ofof the deptho
depth" Consequently, the culvert
Consequently, eulvert lies
lies
n aa steep
on steep slopeo
s1ope, If
ff it
it is
is assumed
asswned that
that aa square-edge
square*edge inlet provided,
inlet has been provided,
the
the head required
required for
for aa discharge
Cisctrarge of
of Iho
1l+0 cfs
efs can be obtained
obtained directly
directly from
fron
Fi go 6 since
5'ig" since the
the head-discharge
head*discharge curve
eurve for
for culverts
culverts on steep
steep slopes
sl-opes with
rrith square-
sqr:are*
edge
edge inlets
inlets is
is independent
i-ndepencient of
ol the
the characteristics
characteristics of
of the
the barrel"
barrel" From
Fron the
the
ffigure
i gur e it
it appears
appears that
that for
for
."4
= 9.0, n = 5"90
T
Consequently,
Consequ-ent1y, to
to discharge
Cischarge Iho
tl+O cfs
cfs through
thror:gh the
the culvert
eulvert will
will require
reqrrire aa head
hearl
of 117"l+
7 0h ft
ft above
above the
the invert
inveri or
or Ihoh
1l+"1+ft
ft over
over the
the culvert
eulvert cr01"mo
crogno

If the
If inlet were rounded so that
the inlet that no separation
separation at
at the
the inlet
inlet occurred,
oeer:rred,
the
the culvert
culvert would
would flow
flow full r,shenthe
fr:1l when the upstream
npstrearn water
water sllrface
sr::rfaee became
beearn-ehigh
high enough
enough
to
to seal
seal the
the entranceo
entrance" If
If it
it, is
is asslmed
ass'.rmedthat
that for
for aa discharge
Ciseha,rge of
of Iho
l-hO cfs
cfs the
the

xsee also
*See also reference pare 20
reference on page 2"
 9

will flow full, 'Eq. (8)

culvert wil1f1onrfullo'Eq.
crrlvert ( 8 ) will
will describe
describe the flow or,
the flow in addition
or, in addition to
to the
the
fac tors Eiven
factors given above.
above, we
we have

L.
T
15 sinB
fr sine =
^
100 x .Ob
l_00 .04 l
= t
= 11.0
4.0

K =
1f
= 0 .08
0.08
e
''I
H
TI 1 = a 2 5 2 ((1
r + O 2
, 0 B+ 1 ,t0) 92
Then
i15j --'2 + . =0 ,00252
t ++1400 0008 1.50)

H .7"7
D = 1. 77
1
r . { I
15
Since
Since HID
H/D is greater
computed is
as eompu*ed than 1"!,
greater than 1.5, the assumption that
the assutilption that the
the
cllvert fl-ows
eulvert flows full-
full for the preseribed
for the discharge is
prescribed discharge is satisfied'
satisfied. For
For a rounded
rOlmded
inlet then
inlet then the
the head required
required to
to riischarge
discharge 140 cfs is
1l+0 cfs 5.3 ft
is 5,3 ft above the j-nvert
above the invert
or only- 2"3
oronly 203 fL
ft above
above the
the croi,ynof
crown of the
the cr:lvert
culvert as eolnpared
compared to ll-r"h ft
to 14.4 above the
ft a'i:ove the
crornn the j-nlet
crown ifif the inlet had been sqrrare-edged-. difference is
square-edged. The difference is attributable
attributable
entirely
enti to the
re]v to the entranee
entrance eondition"
condition.

IV.
W" CULVERTS
CUT,VERTSWITH
tr]ffTH FREE
FREE OUTLETS
OI.T],ETS AND HORIZONTAL OR
AIITJEOBIZOI{TA], MI1.D SLOPES
CIB }{II} STOPAS

When
lllhen the
the culvert
culvert is
is horizontal,
horlzontal, or
or at least the
at least the slope is less
slope is than
less than
S" as defined
S clefined byby Eq. (l),
Eq, (J), the
the flow
flow inin the
the culvert
culvert at at depths less than
depths less than D T
c
raust be subcri
must tical and the
subcritical the control
control section
seetion moves
moves to to the outlet end
tht outlet of the
encl of the
culvert.
cul-vert" For
For larger
larger discharges
discharges the
the culvert
eulvert will
will flow
flolr full
fu11 and
and the
the control
eontrol isj-s

exercised
exerclsed. by barrel
barrel friction.
friction" For tthose
hose discharges
discharges where
where the culvert
culvert flows
flotcs
partly
partly full,
full r the 'water
the water surface
surface assumes
assunes the profile
the profile of aa drawdown
of drawdorvn curve passing
erlrve passing
through
through critical
critical depth at
at the outlet
outlet and
and acquiring
aequiring aa relative
relative depth at
at the
the
j-n1et end of
inlet of the
the ccrrlvert
ulvert that
that dep ends on the
depends the slope, length,h , and roughness
s1ope, lengt of
rou,ghness of
the culvert
culvert (figs"
(Figs. 4c
l+c and 5c).
5c)" This
This relative is independent
relatj-ve depth is independent of
of the
geometry
geonetry of
of the
the inlet,
lnIei, and hence is
is the
the same
same whether inlet
whether the inlet is square-edged
is square-edged
or rounded.
rounded" If
If Bernoulli
Bernoullits I s equation
equation is
is written
written between aa ppoint r-rpstrearaof
oint upstream of
tthe
he inlet
inlet and
and aa point
point within
within the culvert just downstream
culvert just dounstream of inlet,
of the inlet, there
there
is
is obtained
o'trtaineC for
for the head
head up stream the expression
upstrean e4oression

where
where HID
H/D is
is the
the relative
relative head
head acting
acting on
on the
the culvert and diD
culvert and is the
d.,/T is the rela-
rela-
tive
tive depth
depth within
within the
the inlet.
inlet, Equation (9) applies
Squation (9) applies both
both to the square-edge
to the sqrrare-edge
 10
10

and rounded
and inlets; the difference
rounded inlets; differenee is in
in the magnitude
r:Tagnitudeof the entrance
entranee loss
eoefficient
coefficient K-.• [EXPeriments
Ke lnnperirnents on l-r-in. Luci
on the 4-in. ],ucite errlvert indicated
te culvert lndieated thatthat for
for
e L
the square-edge inl-et K
square-edge inlet K" == 0.43
0.1+3 and for aa we
and for well
ll rounded (r/t) == 0.15)
inl-et (riD
rounded inlet
e ~
K == O.OB.
0,08. Experiments
Experiments on fu11-sca1e pprefabrieated
on full-scale refab ricated concrete
eonerete culverts"
eulverts* withwith
ee '
bbe1l-raouthed inlets showed
ell-mouthed inlets that for
showed that for reentrant inlets
reentrant inlets K" == 0.15,
K 0.I5t and
and for
for
e
flush inlets
flush inlets K^ == 0.10.
K 0.10" For culverts
eulverts fabricated
fabricated from corrugated pipesl
raetal- pipes,
eorrugated metal
ee v

the corresponding entranee losses'~

coresponding entrance l-osses-Fwere
were as as follows:
followsr projecting (reenfrant)
projecting (reent,rant)
inlet
inlet K- == 0.85,
K flush inlet
- ' flush inlet it^ == 0.50.J
K 0.50..l larger relative
- l For larger relative discharges,
diseharges,
ee ee
pointwill
aa point will bebe reached rrhen the culvert
reached when vrill flow
culvert will flow full
fuI1 throughout
throrrghout its length
its length
(rigs. 4d
(Figs. J+aand
ana 5d). lThenthis
5a)' When oecurs, Eq.
this occurs, (B) applies to this
Eq. (B) this case
case of the mild
nild
as well
slope as well as
as to culverts
culverts on
on steep
steep slopes. llere again the difference
Here difference in
in
head for aa given
head for partieular culvert
glven discharge through aa particular eulvert will
wil1 depend
depend on
on the
nagnitude
ma of
gnitude of K" corresponding to
K rshether the inlet
to whether inlet is
is square-edged
square-edged or rounded.
rounded..
e
The same
The fastors applicab
samefactors applicable
le to part-fu1l flow
to part-full flowmay also be applied
may also applied to
to full
fi:11 flow.
florr,
The head-:-discharge
The head-discharge curves for
for culverts on aa zero slope may
culverts on may be compared
eornparedin
in
Fig. 7 to
Fig. to show
show the effect inlet rounding on
effect of inlet on the required
required head.
head.

Florv in
Exarnple of Flow
Example in Horizontal
Horizontal Culvert
Culvert (Zero Slope)
Slope)
If it
If is assumed
it is assumedthat
that the culvert
culvert described
described in previ.ous example
in the previous example
had been
had laid horizontally
been laid rather than on
horizontally rather on aa 4l+ per cent
eent lilope,
51ope, the influence
lnflr,rence
of inlet geometry on
of inlet on the flow
flow in eulverts on
in culverts on mild
mild slopes may j-llustrated,
may be ill ustrated.
Again the factors
faetors which apply, assuming aa square-edge
aFplyr assuming rounded inlet
square-edge or rounded inlet are
as followst
as follows:

L
(square-edge)
(square-edge) =
*D==t 100
oo K"
K
e
= 0.43
6,1*3

Q
$ = t=. 9.0
--r:rM o K*
K (rounded)
(rounded) == 0.08
O.OB
n;// - e
D'' 2

ine
ssin O=
=0 f = 0.015 (or
= 0"015 about 0.o10
(or about n.0'0 for
for
Manning rtnn
Manning "nil))

If
If it
it is
is assumed
assuJ!led as
as before
before that
that the culvert
culvert flows
flows fu1l,
full, then
then

2
((1r ++KK *+" tf #~)(~)
a
H
D
D
11 t
-"22 +~DD sinU
-H- - + - sine =
= -i
2
8
v e u
)r$rer'
g
7
7r r r• gg n'
,+
*See on page
See reference on page 2"
2.
 11
11

the square-edge
For the inlet
square-edge inlet
?t
H
rj == .0252 2
D (I
.0252(1 ++ 0.43
O . h j ++ 1.50)
L , S o ) 99 2 ++ 0.50
o"50 - -0a = 6.47
6.1t7
I t = 6.47
H J , o== 19.41
6 , h 7x x3.0 19"h1 ft
ft above
aboveinvert
invert

inlet
roundedinlet
For the rounded

~T1 ( r ++ 0~8 1 , 5 0 )9922 +* 0.50

fl
. 0 2 5 2(1
= .0252 O - B+* 1.50) o " 5 O== 5.77
i"77
or H
1r = 5.77
-
9,77 x 3.0 = 17.31
3,0 = 77"3a ft
ft above invert
above invert

The computed value of

he computed H/,
H/D indieates that
indicates assurnption that
that the assumption that the culvert
culvert
flows
fl is valid.
fuII is
ows full valid"

fn this
In this case
case the advantage
advantage of using
using aa rounded
rounded inlet
inlet is
is approximately
approrirnately
2.1
2. fi of head.
1 ft head,

V"
V. SHOETCULVERTS
SHORT CULVEBTS

Whenaa culvert
When is short,
culvert is short, the flow
flow characteristics
characteristics become
becomerelatively
relatively
independent of
of the sloper and the factors
slop e, and factors that
that involve
involve the length become com-
length become eom-
paratively r:nimportant" Consequently,
paratively unimportant. Consequently, the control
control sectiG is essentially
sectionn is essentially at
the inlet
inlet for all eonditions.
for all conditions. Therefore the head-discharge
head-discharge relationship
relationship for
for
part-fullflowshouldbenruchthe same as
part-full flow should be much the same as for eul-verts on a
for culverts a steep slope in
in the
case
case of
of both
both the square-edge
square-edge and
and rounded
rounded inLets"
inlets. The
The head-discharge
head-discharge cr:rve
curve for
for
the square-edge 1nlet
inlet :nhen
when the
the headnater
headwater elevation
elevation is
is above
above the
the top
top of
of the
-oipe should also
pi pe should also be rauch
much the same as that
the sarne that for
for a
a sj.rnilar
similar eulvert
culvert on a steep
slope'
slope. fnthe
In the case of
of the short
short eulvert
culvert rith
"d.th the rounded inlet
inlet flowing
flowing ful1,
full,
Eq . (B)
Eq' with L +
(8) wittr ~ 0 becoming
becoming very small would <leseribe
very sma11 describe the
the fLow,
flow, the
the magni-
tude of
of t'/V stnQ8 and
t/D sin (L/fr) both
and ff(t/D) both being negligible • . Between
being negligible. the part-fu1l
Between the part-full
phase
phase and the full-flow phase
the ful1-f1ow phase there exists a transition
there exists of pulsating
zone of
transition zone pulsating flow
flow
in
in which
which the cul-vert
culvert is
is alternately full and partly
alternately fu1l partly ful1.
full.

The
The head-discharge
head-discharge curves for short culverts
for short culverts of
of any slope
slope have
have been
computed on the
conputed the above
above basls and plotted
basis and plotted inin Fig, 8 for
Fig. B for eomparison"
comparison. In
In these
computations itit was
computations was assrmed
assumed that
that Lt eould
could be coneidered
considered equal
equal to
to zero,
zero, and
the entrance loss
t he entrance loss coefficient
coefficient K*
K for the
for the rounded inlet,
inlet, as before,
before, sras
was
e
assumed to 0.08"
assumed equal to 0 . 08.
 12
12

It is
It is apparent fron the plot
from the plot that considerable advantage in
that a eonsiderable in head
head
is gained
is gained for
for the
the larger
larger discharges ~ the
discharges ry simple expedient
the simple of rounding
expedient of rounding the
the
inlet to
inlet to reduce
reduce the
the degree
degree of
of eontraction of the jet"
contraction of jet.

Example of
of Flow
Flow in Short Culverts
in Short Culverts
culvert prevlously
the culvert
If the
ff described is
previously described again r:iodified
is agaln modified byby reducing
reducing
its length
its length toto a negligible
negligible amount,
amount, the slope of
the sl-ope of the culvert wi1l
the culvert lvill also
also beeome
become
unimportant. Thenr
unimportant. using the
Then, using same discharge as before
the sane (Q!D5/ 2 == 9"0)r
before &/n5/z 9.0), we
we
may take
nay take the
the value
value of HID
of H/D directly from the
direetly curve for
the eurve for the square-edge inlet
the s{riare-eCge inlet
in Fig.
in 8, since
Fig. B, HID
lI/D ~ functlon
is a
is function of inlet geometry only"
of 1n1et only. Therefore
Therefore

15?H, ,
II
=
= !5.80
.90

or IIg *= J,BOD
5. 80D ==- 17.4
17.L ft
ft above
above the invert
invert

On the other
Or hand, if
other hand, the i-n1et
if the is roundedo
inlet is rounded, the value of
the value of HID
H/T may
may
also be
be taken fron Fig. 8
from Fig" B since in this
sinee in ease too the head-discharge
this case rel-ation-
head-discharge relation-
s hip depends
ship depends only
only on
on the inlet geometry"
inlet geometry. Ilere
Here
?t
H
It
2"55
TI = 2.55
15

and
and H == 2.55D
2.95D == 7.65 above the invert
tt above
7.65 ft {nvert

In
In this
this case
case the advantage in head
advantage in head of the rounded inlet over the
"o.rinA*Uinlet
square-edge
square-edge inlet
inlet amounts fo 9.75
amounts to 9"75 ft, quj-te significant
ft, aa quite amount'
signifieani amount.

ACKNSIIIEDGI'IENI
ACKNOWLEIXiMENT

The experiments
The experinents described
described here and
and used in the discussion
used in discussLon of the
influence
influence of inlet geonetry on
inlet geometry on the capacity
capacity of culverts were
of culverts were performed at the
St.
St" Anthony
Anthony Falls
Fa1ls Hydraulic Laboratoryunder
Hydraulic Laboratory general supervision
under the general lorenz
supervlsion of Lorenz
G.
G" Straub, director.
director" The projeet leader of those
Theproject under the sponsorship
those under sponsorship of the
Minnesota
Ifirrnesota State
State Highway
Highway Department
Departraent and U. S.
and the U. 5" Public A&ninistration
Boads Administration
Publie Roads
was
was Henry
l{enrXrM.
M" Morris
},{orris who
who did aa considerable part of the analysis.
considerabl-e part analysis' As part of
As part
aa thesis project M
thesis project Madhav Manohar
adhav M perforned aa rather
anohar performed rather extensive s'eries of exper-
exbensive s'eries exper-
j-nents to study
iments study the flow
flow in
in culverts on steep
culverts on slopes using both aa square-edge
steep slopes square-edge
and
andaa rounded
rounded inlet.
inlet" His experiments eovered the range
er<perirnentscovered of orifice
range of flow through
orifice flow through
the
the square-edge ln1et, and
square-edge inlet, and the slug-flow
slug-flon ,and
and mixed-flow phases for
mlxed-flow phases rounded
for rounded
inlets,
inlets, and
and supplement
sr:pplementearlier
earlier tests.
tests'
A IIET!IE
APPENDIX
Figures to 8
i''l-gnres 1I to o
 1l+

Fig.
Fig. l-
1- Vorioble-Slope Culvert Model
Variable -Slope Culvert Model
 15
L5

Culvert-4 in. lD
l2in.by3Oin.Chonnel

AdjustobleSupport

of Test
Sketchof
Sketch Test Set-Up
Set-Up

=O.60in.
1/ R = 0.60in.

)J4in. )~4in.
~:::ZZ::Z:::Z~~ C1
V;z:zzzzzzzzz::zt
It'
It'

Rounded Inlet
RoundedInlet Squore-Edge
Square-Edge Inlet
Inlet

Fig.2-Equipment
Fig. 2 - Equipment and ldetsUsed
ondlnets usedin
in Model
ModelTests
Tests
 16
16

r.o

Legend
Legend

S.- Critical
Sc- CriticolSlope
Slope V- I~~
I-- nn -- The
TheManning
Monning Coefficient
Coefficient --+--III--/-+V-7"-L~_-+-_+-_t----;---t-------1

~
gd
D
r-

~ rw I
1

I
J
V f
/
/

_----1
J Sub critical Flow I--------,'I\~______i Supercritical Flow 1 - - - -
t _

o
o
SC/
s"/L",
n2
,D5
0
1
3
80
80

Fig.3-
Fig. 3 - Criticol
Critical Culvert Slopeas
Culvert Slope os o Function
a Function of Depth
of Depth
 17
1-7

Fr-ow TYPE
FLOW TypE ILLUSTRATION
ILLUSTRATION

(o) STEEP
(a) STEEP SLOPE
SLOPE
H / D<< 1.3
HID t.3
SUPERCRITICAL
SUPERCRITICAL FLOW
FLOW
Gontrol
Control :: critical
crilicol section
seciion
ot inlet
at inlet

(b) STEEP
(b) STEEP SLOPE
SLOPE
H/D >
HID ) 1.3
t.3
SUPERCRITICAL
FLOW
FLOW
Gontrol
Control:: orifice
orifice flow
flow
ot inlet
at inlet

(c) MILD
(c) MILD SLOPE
SLOPE
SUBCRITICA-FLOW
SUBCRITICAL FLOW
Cmtrol:
Control : crilicol
critical depfh
depth
ot
at ouf let
outlet

(d)
(d) MILD
MILD SLOPE
SLOPE
FULL
FULL FLOW
FLOW
Control:
Control: borrel
barrel friction
friction

Fig. 4 -Typicol
Fig.4 - Typical Flow
Flow Conditions
Conditions for
for Squore-edge
Square-edge Inlet
Inlet
 18
1B

Fr-owTYPE
FLOW Tvpe ILLUSTRATION
ILLUSTRATION

(o) STEEP
(a) STEEP SLOPE
SLOPE
HID
H/D (< 1.25
t.25
SUPERCRITICAL
SUPERCRITICAL FLOW
FLOW
Control:critical
Control: crilicolsection
section
ot inlet
at inlet

(b) STEEP
(b) STEEP SLOPE
SLOPE
H / D > 1.25
HID> t.25
SLUG FLOW
SLUG FLOW
pulsoting
Gontrol: pulsating
Control:

(c) MILD
(c) MILD SLOPE
SLOPE
SUBCRITICAL
SUBCRITICAL FLOW
FLOW
Control:critical
Control: criticol depth
depth
ot outlet
at outlet

(d) MILD
(d) MILD SLOPE
SLOPE
FULL FLOW
FULL FLOW
Gontrol:barrel
Control: borrel friction
friction

Fig.5 -- Typical
. Fig. TypicolFlow
Flow Conditions
Conditions RoundedInlet
for Rounded
for Inlet
 19
L9

66 .
~L ___ ~~
.s - tcv~L !
~
\b
';y
1I /I
1--"
r9
~
I

~~I /I
I
i1-/
~ ~
i
55
#/ I-iif.E/
"bo,
q,
q,
8-,
4
~ta,
q,

.;:
s9 ~*b7 ~
§ ~./ V '!-o"
/I I o
Q)

I
ijr-
Squore-edge
Square-edge Inlet
Inlet
Experimentol
Experimental Doto 0o
Data
c/i
CIj jiB l
_8,
b
!
i
t
/,I
iI
4 Computed
Computed
Rounded
Rounded
Results
Results
lnlet
Inlet I
! J/.i/ /II I

! it
III
H
3
Experimentol
Experimental
Computed
Computed
It
Doto 0tr
Data
Resulfs- - -
Results
It Il I t I l
I /
1/ IFull Flow (See Fig. 5d~ I
I

D V
Port-fullFlow
Part-full (SeeFi9.4b)--1
Flow (See Fi9.ab) " ,6I rI
,I,
Ii /I
/
V/ /dI I/I
I

rI
,//
J , tl
/I
2
~//
Ia
I
/
"/
/
*t- -_ ........,I- - .-t.'-
.J- _-t-
I I
.B
... ~-I
.,. I

I
Port-full
Part-full F
- f r ; ^ z40)
r(Fig.
~r
r^\* I
,,--
fr
~ 1..6. 0...
FI <>.2r"~~-o-~-- -- - ~- -
f,
.r:J.,. -p_!;1_d__l

Mixedo
-Mixed
l_gl-

SlugFlow
n d Slug
and low (See ig.5bJ
iSeeFig. 5tD
c~-.J
=--J

F l ()w(s Fg. 5o)

e e Fig.

o
/' II T"'-'i
I I I
J l l Flow
--Part-full (See 50)
I I I
o 2 2 4 46 86 t 8O t 10 2 12 t 414 t 16 6

%~
n ,/9,
t/D"

Fig.
Fig. 6-
6- Comporison of Heod-Dischorge
Comparison of Head-Discharge Curves
Curves for
for Squore-edge and Rounded
Square-edge ond Rounded Inlets
Inlets
(Long
(Long Culvert
Culvert on
on Steep
Steep Slope)
Slope)
 20
20

L-----l 1
6 Hr

5
Squore-edge Inlet- t'=O
r =^ . -
RoundedInlet- 6' 9.15

H
D
D 3

2
F u l l F l o w ( S e e F i g .4 d , 5 d )

P o r t - f u l lF l o w ( S e e F i g .4 c , 5 c )

o
o 2 4 6 8 10
a,/oz
o/D~
Fig.7-
Fig. comporison
7- Comparison of Heod-Dischorge
of Head-Discharge curvesfor
Curves for Square-edge
Squore-edge
ondRounded
and Rounded Inlets (LongCulvert
lnlets(Long Culvert on
on Mild
MildSlope)
Slope)
 21
2t

6 .{3
\s

5 .(l,
bd
?t/ //
S q u o re
Square e l e -t-
-e d gInlet
- edge In -5fi =O
'" 0 S/ |\
Rounded
Rounded In l e--f
Inlet 6$ =O.tS
= 0 .15 .{ /
a

s
9
Part- full flow (See Fig.4b)-
P o r t -full '/
H t t l t r t
:3 ,
D
/
a l . t t l
/ /* f low (See
Full flow Fig 5d)
(See Fig. 5d) '
l t l
2
Port-f ull fflow
Part-full low /
((See
See F i g . 40)
Fig. 4o)-
I =_L.4
\
| I I
I ) , flow ((See
M i x e d o n d S l u g flow Set F i s. . 5
Fig 5b)
b)
'r,o,,',r..'ris. l5o)
.t {rorrlrr,,
/
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 t2
12 t144
%~
Yoz
F
Fig. - Comporison
i g . I8- Comparison of Head -- Dischorge
of Heod Discharge Curves
Curves for Square -- edge
for Squore edge
ond Inlets (Short
Rounded Inlets
and Rounded (Short C ulvert-- Control
Culvert at IInlet)
Control ot n l e)t