Abstract
A GIS-enabled culvert design module is presented. This module employs Python programming to combine a proposed culvert location, topography, land use, and rainfall data to automatically design a culvert. The module is embedded within ESRI ArcGIS 10.4 software, providing a seamless single platform that eliminates error propagation associated with cross-platform data transfer as well as providing 95% time savings over traditional calculation methods. The module uses United States Geological Survey digital elevation data to analyze watershed topography. Runoff coefficients are determined from data available through the National Land Cover Database. Rainfall data are retrieved from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and combined with watershed and land use information to calculate peak discharge using the rational method. Peak discharge is then combined with culvert design parameters to design a single-barrel culvert. The module was used to redesign ten existing culverts along a highway in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, resulting in designs for updated land cover and rainfall conditions. Results from the techniques developed herein can be used for planning purposes and to highlight vulnerabilities in the existing infrastructure. The automation methods may be extended to other hydrologic objectives and runoff mitigation design such as open-channel design and detention or retention ponds.
Highlights
Culverts are an integral part of the built environment, within transportation networks. ey are the most prevalent means of conveying water from one side of a roadway to another, with the number of culverts in each state ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands [1]
Peak flow determination could feasibility be integrated into the tool the rational method was chosen as the peak owrate approach for this work because of its widespread use. e rational method, which was introduced to the United States in 1889, is still the most commonly used method for designing drainage infrastructure in watersheds smaller than 200 acres [21]. e rational method requires drainage basin characteristics of the watershed up-gradient from the location of a hydraulic structure being designed
Conclusions e geographic information system (GIS)-enabled culvert design tool presented allows a user to choose the geographic location of a proposed culvert and automatically design the culvert within a singlecomputational platform. e technique uses geographic input data from US Geographical Survey (USGS) digital elevation data and National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) to determine the rational method runoff coefficient, to delineate the watershed, and to calculate the stream length and slope and time of concentration
Summary
Culverts are an integral part of the built environment, within transportation networks. ey are the most prevalent means of conveying water from one side of a roadway to another, with the number of culverts in each state ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands [1]. E quantity of culverts along roadways produces a burden on the agencies that design, manage, and maintain this infrastructure, and there is a need to efficiently design and analyze these systems. Conventional culvert design software programs include governmental software programs such as the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Culvert Hydraulic. Design parameters for cylindrical culverts include the peak flowrate, slope of the culvert, headwater and tailwater elevations, and the diameter of a culvert barrel [4]. Typical culvert design software automatically calculates and adjusts site-specific parameters like culvert slope and headwater elevations until suitable design conditions are met. Peak flowrate, which is a critical input for many different types of hydraulic infrastructure, must often be performed externally, translated and formatted before the data can be used. Hydrological analysis can be time consuming if performed by hand, and data transfer often leads to errors due to translation and formatting. erefore, these hydrological analyses must be performed externally, through either hydrologic modeling software, a geographic information system (GIS), or a combination of the two
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