Part 3: Hydrology, Hydraulics, and Water Quality: Hydraulic Characteristics of Buried-Invert Elliptical Culverts

Abstract

In response to recent and ongoing adaptation of culvert designs to environmentally sensitive installations, inlet loss coefficients and inlet control flow performance data are presented that are specific to environmentally sensitive culvert geometries. A common practice for such culvert designs is to bury the culvert inverts and create a simulated streambed through the culvert. Common cross-sectional geometries of such culverts typically include circular, elliptical, or pipe arch. These buried-or depressed-invert culverts create inlet geometries for which inlet loss information and inlet control flow performance curves have not been developed. Regardless of the method used to design environmentally sensitive culverts, the ability of the culvert to pass the design flood must be determined. In an effort to provide such information, an elliptical smooth-wall culvert with an invert burial depth of 50% was tested under various conditions (e.g., various end treatments, inlet and outlet control, submerged and un...