Circular Culvert Design Calculations / Software / Equations

Uses Manning equation with circular culvert geometry.

Circular Culvert using Compute velocity, discharge, depth, top width, culvert
Manning Equation diameter, area, wetted perimeter, hydraulic radius, Froude
number, Manning coefficient, channel slope.
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Culvert Design using Inlet and Outlet Conrol Trapezoidal Channel Design Rectangular Channels Critical
Depth in Circular Culvert Unit Conversions
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Links on this page: Introduction Variables Manning's n coefficients Error messages References

Introduction
The equation beginning V=.... is called the Manning Equation. It is a semi-empirical equation and is the
most commonly used equation for uniform steady state flow of water in open channels (see Discussion and
References for Open Channel Flow for further discussion). Because it is empirical, the Manning equation
has inconsistent units which are handled through the conversion factor k. Uniform means that the water
surface has the same slope as the channel bottom. Uniform flow is actually only achieved in channels that
are long and have an unchanging cross-section. However, the Manning equation is used in other situations
despite not strictly achieving these conditions.

In our calculation, most of the combinations of inputs have analytic (closed form) solutions to compute the
unknown variables; however, some two require numerical solutions ("Enter Q, n, S, d" and "Enter V, n, S,
d"). Our numerical solutions utilize a cubic solver that finds roots of the equations with the result accurate
to at least 8 significant digits. All of our calculations utilize double precision.

It is possible to get two answers using "Enter Q,n,S,d" or "Enter V,n,S,d". This is because maximum Q and
V do not occur when the pipe is full. Qmax occurs when y/d=0.938. If y/d is more than that, Q actually
decreases due to friction. Given a pipe with diameter d, roughness n, and slope S, let Qo be the discharge
when the pipe is flowing full (y/d=1). As seen on the graph below, discharge is also equal to Qo when
y/d=0.82. If the entered Q is greater than Qo (but less than Qmax), there will be two solution values of
y/d, one between 0.82 and 0.938, and the other between 0.938 and 1. The same argument applies to V,
except that Vo occurs at y/d=0.5, and Vmax occurs at y/d=0.81. If the entered V is greater than Vo (but
less than Vmax), there will be two solution values of y/d, one between 0.5 and 0.81, and the other
between 0.81 and 1. For further information, see Chow (1959, p. 134).

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Circular Culvert Design Calculations / Software / Equations

The following graphs are valid for any roughness (n) and slope (S):
Qo=full pipe discharge; Vo=full pipe velocity:

Variables To top of page

A = Flow cross-sectional area, determined normal (perpendicular) to the bottom surface [L 2 ].
d = Culvert diameter [L].
F = Froude number. F is a non-dimensional parameter indicating the relative effect of inertial effects to
gravity effects. Flow with F<1 are low velocity flows called subcritical. F>1 are high velocity flows called
supercritical. Subcritical flows are controlled by downstream obstructions while supercritical flows are
affected by upstream controls. F=1 flows are called critical.
g = acceleration due to gravity = 32.174 ft/s2 = 9.8066 m/s2 . g is used in the equation for Froude
number.
k = unit conversion factor = 1.49 if English units = 1.0 if metric units. Our software converts all inputs to
SI units (meters and seconds), performs the computations using k=1.0, then converts the computed
quantities to units specified by the user. Required since the Manning equation is empirical and its units are
inconsistent.
n = Manning coefficient. n is a function of the culvert material, such as plastic, concrete, brick, etc. Values
for n can be found in the table below of Manning's n coefficients.
P = Wetted perimeter [L]. P is the contact length (in the cross-section) between the water and the culvert.
Q = Discharge or flowrate [L 3 /T].
R = Hydraulic radius of the flow cross-section [L].
S = Slope of channel bottom or water surface [L/L]. Vertical distance divided by horizontal distance.
T = Top width of the flowing water [L].
V = Average velocity of the water [L/T].
y = Water depth measured normal (perpendicular) to the bottom of the culvert [L]. If the culvert has a
small slope (S), then entering the vertical depth introduces only minimal error.
Ø = Angle representing how full the culvert is [radians]. A culvert with Ø=0 radians (0o ) contains no
water, a culvert with Ø=pi radians (180 o ) is half full, and a culvert with Ø=2 pi radians (360 o ) is
completely full.

Manning's n Coefficients To top of page

The table shows the Manning n values for materials most commonly used for culverts. These values were
compiled from the references listed under Discussion and References and in the references at the bottom of
this web page (note the footnotes which refer to specific references). A more complete table of Manning n
values can be found on our Manning n page.

Material Manning n Material Manning n

Metals:
Brass 0.011 Smooth Steel 0.012
Cast Iron 0.013 Corrugated Metal 0.022

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Circular Culvert Design Calculations / Software / Equations

Non-Metals:
Corrugated Polyethylene (PE) with smooth inner walls a,b 0.009-0.015
Corrugated Polyethylene (PE) with corrugated inner walls c 0.018-0.025
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) with smooth inner walls d,e 0.009-0.011
Glass 0.010 Finished Concrete 0.012
Clay Tile 0.014 Unfinished Concrete 0.014
Brickwork 0.015 Gravel 0.029
Asphalt 0.016 Earth 0.025
Masonry 0.025 Planed Wood 0.012
Unplaned Wood 0.013

Error Messages To top of page

"Infeasible Input. T/d > 1." Water top width cannot be greater than the culvert diameter.
"An input is <= 0." Certain inputs must be positive.
"Infeasible Input. T < 0." Water top width cannot be negative.
"Infeasible Input. y/d > 1." Water depth cannot exceed the pipe diameter.

References (footnotes refer back to Manning n table) To top of page

a Barfuss, Steven and J. Paul Tullis. Friction factor test on high density polyethylene pipe. Hydraulics
Report No. 208. Utah Water Research Laboratory, Utah State University. Logan, Utah. 1988.
cBarfuss, Steven and J. Paul Tullis. Friction factor test on high density polyethylene pipe. Hydraulics
Report No. 208. Utah Water Research Laboratory, Utah State University. Logan, Utah. 1994.
e Bishop, R.R. and R.W. Jeppson. Hydraulic characteristics of PVC sewer pipe in sanitary sewers. Utah
State University. Logan, Utah. September 1975.

Chow, V. T. 1959. Open-Channel Hydraulics. McGraw-Hill, Inc.

d Neale, L.C. and R.E. Price. Flow characteristics of PVC sewer pipe. Journal of the Sanitary Engineering
Division, Div. Proc 90SA3, ASCE. pp. 109-129. 1964.
b Tullis, J. Paul, R.K. Watkins, and S. L. Barfuss. Innovative new drainage pipe. Proceedings of the
International Conference on Pipeline Design and Installation, ASCE. March 25-27, 1990.

© 1998-2000 LMNO Engineering, Research, and Software, Ltd. (All Rights Reserved)
Revision 0 on 12/17/1998. Revision 1 on 7/13/2000 (additional units).
LMNO Engineering, Research, and Software, Ltd.
7860 Angel Ridge Rd. Athens, Ohio USA (740) 592-1890
LMNO@LMNOeng.com http://www.LMNOeng.com

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