TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4

APPENDIX B
HYDRAULIC DESIGN DATA FOR CULVERTS
B-1. General.
a. Thi s appendi x presents di agrams, charts,
coeffi ci ents and rel ated i nformati on useful i n de-
si gn of cul verts. The i nformati on l argel y has been
obtai ned from the U.S. Department of Transpor-
tati on, Federal Hi ghway Admi ni strati on (for-
merl y, Bureau of Publ i c Roads), suppl emented or
modi fi ed as appropri ate by i nformati on from var-
i ous other sources and as requi red for consi stency
wi th desi gn practi ce of the Corps of Engi neers.
b. Laboratory tests and fi el d observati ons show
two major types of cul vert fl ow: fl ow wi th i nl et
control and fl ow wi th outl et control . Under i nl et
control , the cross-secti onal area of the cul vert bar-
rel , the i nl et geometry and the amount of head-
water or pendi ng at the entrance are of pri mary
i mportance. Outl et control i nvol ves the addi ti onal
consi derati on of the el evati on of the tai l water i n
the outl et channel and the sl ope, roughness, and
l ength of the cul vert barrel . The type of fl ow or
the l ocati on of the control i s dependent on the
quanti ty of fl ow, roughness of the cul vert barrel ,
type of i nl et, fl ow pattern i n the approach channel ,
and other factors. I n some i nstances the fl ow con-
trol changes wi th varyi ng di scharges, and occa-
si onal l y the control fl uctuates from i nl et control
to outl et control and vi ce versa for the same di s-
charge. Thus, the desi gn of cul verts shoul d con-
si der both types of fl ow and shoul d be based on
the more adverse fl ow condi ti on anti ci pated.
B-2. Inlet c ontrol. The di scharge capaci ty of a
cul vert i s control l ed at the cul vert entrance by
the depth of headwater (HI V) and the entrance
geometry, i ncl udi ng the area, sl ope, and type of
i nl et edge. Types of i nl et-control l ed fl ow for un-
submerged and submerged entrances are shown
at A and B i n fi gure B1. A mi tered entrance (fi g
Bl C) produces l i ttl e i f any i mprovement i n effi -
ci ency over that of the strai ght, sharp-edged, pro-
jecti ng i nl et. Both types of i nl ets tend to i nhi bi t
the cul vert from fl owi ng ful l when the i nl et i s sub-
merged. Wi th i nl et control the roughness and l ength
of the cul vert barrel and outl et condi ti ons (i n-
cl udi ng depths of tai l water) are not factors i n de-
termi ni ng cul vert capaci ty. The effect of the bar-
rel sl ope on i nl et-control fl ow i n conventi onal
cul verts i s negl i gi bl e. Nomography for determi n-
i ng cul vert capaci ty for i nl et control were devel -
oped by the Di vi si on of Hydraul i c Research, Bu-
reau of Publ i c Roads. (See Hydraulics of Bridge
Wateways.) These nomography (fi gs B2 through
B9) gi ve headwater-di scharge rel ati ons for most
conventi onal cul verts fl owi ng wi th i nl et control ,
B-3. Outlet c ontrol.
a. Cul verts fl owi ng wi th outl et control can fl ow
wi th the cul vert barrel ful l or parti al l y ful l for part
of the barrel l ength or for al l of i t (fi g B10). I f
the enti re barrel i s fi l l ed (both cross secti on and
l ength) wi th water, the cul vert i s sai d to be i n ful l
fl ow or fl owi ng ful l (fi g B1OA and B). The other
two common types of outl et-control fl ow are shown
i n fi gure B1OC and D. The procedure gi ven i n
thi s appendi x for outl et-control fl ow does not gi ve
an exact sol uti on for a free-water-surface condi -
ti on throughout the barrel l ength shown i n fi gure
B-1OD. An approxi mate sol uti on i s gi ven for thi s
case when the headwater, HW, i s equal to or greater
than 0.75D, where D i s the hei ght of the cul vert
barrel . The head, H, requi red to pass a gi ven quan-
ti ty of water through a cul vert fl owi ng ful l wi th
control at the outl et i s made up of three major
parts. These three parts are usual l y expressed i n
feet of water and i ncl ude a vel oci ty head, an en-
trance l oss, and a fri cti on l oss. The vel oci ty head
(the ki neti c energy of the water i n the cul vert
the type or desi gn of the cul vert i nl et and i s ex-
pressed as a coeffi ci ent& ti mes the vel oci ty head
entrances are gi ven i n tabl e B1. The fri cti on l oss,
H
f
, i s the energy requi red to overcome the rough-
ness of the cul vert barrel and i s usual l y expressed
i n terms of Manni ngs n and the fol l owi ng expres-
si on:
B-1
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
S QU A R E E ND- S U B ME R G E D
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
Figure B-1. Inlet control.
B-2
TM 5820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
(n
w
x
v
z
z
~
Figure B2.
Headwater depth for concrete pipe culverts with inlet control.
B-3
TM 5-820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
Figure B-3. Headwater depth for oval concrete pipe culverts long axis vertical wi th i nl et control .
B-4
TM 5-820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
Fi gur e B-4. Headwater depth for oval concrete pi pe cul verts l ong axi s hori zontal with inlet control.
B-5
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
B6
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
[
300
200
B-7
5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
.6
.5
Figure B-7. Headwater depth for box culverts with inlet control.
B- 8
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
B-9
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
Figure B9. Headwater depth for circular pipe culverts with beveled ring inlet control.
B-10
TM 5-820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
A
B-11
I
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
Type of Structure and Design of Entrance Coeffi ci ent K
e
U.S. Army Corps of Engi neers,
Vari abl es i n the equati on are defi ned i n appendi x
D.
Addi ng the three terms and si mpl i fyi ng, yi el ds for
ful l pi pe, outl et control fl ow the fol l owi ng expres-
si on:
Thi s equati on can be sol ved readi l y by the use
of the ful l -fl ow nomography, fi gures BI I through
B17. The equati ons shown on these nomo-
graphy are the same as equati on 1 expressed i n
a di fferent form. Each nomograph i s drawn for
a si ngl e val ue of n as noted i n the respecti ve
fi gure. These nomography may be used for other
val ues of n by modi fyi ng the cul vert l ength as
di rected i n paragraph B6, whi ch descri bes use
of the outl et-control nomography. The val ue of
H must be measur ed fr om some contr ol el e-
vati on at the outl et whi ch i s dependent on the
rate of di scharge or the el evati on of the water
surface of the tai l water. For si mpl i ci ty, a val ue
h
O
i s used as the di stance i n feet from the cul vert
i nvert (fl ow l i ne) at the outl et to the control el -
evati on. The fol l owi ng equati on i s used to com-
pute headwater i n reference to the i nl et i nvert:
HW = h
O
+ H LS
O
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
b. Tailwater elevation at or above the top of the _
culvert barrel outlet (fig B1OA). The tai l water
B12
I
30
20
l o
8
6
5
4
.
Z
B-13
TM 58204/AFM 885, Chap 4
B14
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
B-17
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
B-18
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
5000
4000
3000
2000
3 0
2 0
10
8
6
5
TM 5-820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
(TW) depth i s equal to h
O
, and the rel ati on of
headwater to other terms i n equati on 2 i s i l l us-
trated i n fi gure B18.
c. Tailwater elevation below the top or crown of
the culvert barrel outlet. Fi gure B1OB, C, and D
are three common types of fl ow for outl et control
wi th thi s l ow tai l water condi ti on. I n these cases
h
O
i s found by compari ng two val ues, TW depth
d
c
+ D
i n the outl et channel and
2
and setti ng h
O
d
C
+ D
equal to the l arger val ue. The fracti on
2
i s
a si mpl i fi ed mean of computi ng h
O
when the tai l -
water i s l ow and the di scharge does not fi l l the
cul vert barrel at the outl et. I n thi s fracti on, d
C
i s cri ti cal depth as determi ned from fi gures B
18 through B23 and D i s the cul vert hei ght. The
val ue of DC shoul d never exceed D, maki ng the
upper l i mi t of thi s fracti on equal to D. Fi gure
B19 shows the terms of equati on 2 for the cases
di scussed above. Equati on 2 gi ves accurate an-
swers i f the cul vert fl ows ful l for a part of the
barrel l ength as i l l ustrated by fi gure B23. Thi s
condi ti on of fl ow wi l l exi st i f the headwater, as
determi ned by equati on 2, i s equal to or greater
than the quanti ty:
I f the headwater drops bel ow thi s poi nt the water
surface wi l l be free throughout the cul vert barrel
as i n fi gure B1OD, and equati on 2 yi el ds an-
swers wi th some error si nce the onl y correct
method of fi ndi ng headwater i n thi s case i s by
a backwater computati on starti ng at the cul vert
Fai rl y regul ar secti on:
Some grass and weeds, l i ttl e or no brush ---------------------------------
Dense growth of weeds, depth of fl ow materi al l y greater than weed
hei ght -------------------------------------------------------------------
Some weeds, l i ght brush on banks ----------------------------------------
Some weeds, heavy brush on banks ---------------------------------------
Some weeds, dense wi l l ows on banks -------------------------------------
For tr ees wi thi n channel , wi th branches submerged at hi gh stage, i n-
cr ease al l above val ues by -----------------------------------------------
I rregul ar secti ons, wi th pool s, sl i ght channel meander; i ncrease val ues
gi ven above about ------------------------------------------------------------
Mountai n streams, no vegetati on i n channel , banks usual l y steep, trees
and brush al ong banks submerged at hi gh stage:
Bottom of gravel , cobbl es, and few boul ders -----------------------------
Bottom of cobbl es, wi th large boul der s -----------------------------------
0.0300.035
0.035-0.05
0.0350.05
0.050.07
0.060.08
0.010.02
0.010.02
0.040.05
0.050.07
U.S. Army Corps of Engi neers
B-20
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
Figure B-18, Tailgater elevation at or above top of culved.
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
Figure B-19. Tailwater below the top of the culvert.
B-4. Proc edure for selec tion of c ulvert size.
Sel ect the cul vert si ze by the fol l owi ng steps:
Step 1: Li st gi ven data.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Desi gn di scharge, Q, i n cubi c feet per sec-
ond.
Approxi mate l ength of cul vert, i n feet.
Al l owabl e headwater depth, i n feet, whi ch
i s the verti cal di stance from the cul vert
i nvert (fl ow l i ne) at entrance to the water-
surface el evati on permi ssi bl e i n the ap-
proach channel upstream from the cul -
ver t.
Type of cul vert, i ncl udi ng barrel mate-
ri al , barrel cross-secti onal shape, and en-
trance type.
Sl ope of cul vert. (I f grade i s gi ven i n per-
cent, convert to sl ope i n feet per foot.)
Al l owabl e outl et vel oci ty (i f scour i s a
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
b. Compute and record headwater for out-
l et control as i nstructed bel ow:
(1)
(2)
(3)
c.
d.
Compare the headwater found i n Step 3a
and Step 3b (i nl et control and outl et con-
trol ). The hi gher headwater governs and
i ndi cates the fl ow control exi sti ng under
the gi ven condi ti ons.
Compare the hi gher headwater above
wi th
-
that al l owabl e at the si te. I f head-
water i s greater than al l owabl e, repeat
the procedure usi ng a l arger cul vert. I f
headwater i s l ess than al l owabl e, repeat
the procedure to i nvesti gate the possi -
bi l i ty of usi ng a smal l er si ze.
Step 4: Check outl et vel oci ti es for si ze se-
l ected.
a. I f outl et control governs i n Step 3c, out-
l et vel oci ty equal s Q/A, where A i s the
cross-secti onal area of fl ow at the outl et.
I f d
C
or TW i s l ess than the hei ght of the
cul vert barrel , use cross-secti onal area
correspondi ng to d
C
or TW depth, whi ch-
ever gi ves the greater area of fl ow.
b. I f i nl et control governs i n Step 3c, outl et
vel oci ty can be assumed to equal normal
vel oci ty i n open-channel fl ow as com-
puted by Manni ngs equati on for the
barrel si ze, roughness, and sl ope of cul -
vert sel ected.
Step 5: Try a cul vert of another type or shape
and determi ne si ze and headwater by
the above procedure.
Step 6: Record fi nal sel ecti on of cul vert wi th
si ze, type, outl et vel oci ty, requi red
headwater, and economi c justi fi ca-
ti on.
B23
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
B24
Figure B20. Circular pipecritical depth.
TM 5820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
Figure B21. Oval concrete pipe long axis horizontal critical depth.
B-25
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
Fi gur e B22. Oval concrete pipe long axis verti cal cri ti cal depth.
B-26
TM 5-820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
B-28
TM 5-8204/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
Fi gure B25. Cri ti cal depth rectangular section.
B- 29
(1) above to gi ven di scharge and read di -
ameter, hei ght, or si ze of cul vert requi red.
c. To detemine discharge.
(1)
(2)
(3)
B6. Instruc tion for use of outlet-c ontrol nom-
ography.
a. Fi gures Bn through B17 are nomography
to sol ve for head when cul verts fl ow ful l wi th out-
l et control . They are al so used i n approxi mati ng
the head for some parti al l y ful l fl ow condi ti ons
wi th outl et control . These nomography do not gi ve
a compl ete sol uti on for fi ndi ng headwater. (See
para B4.)
B-30
(1) Locate appropri ate nomograph for type of
cul vert sel ected.
(2) Begi n nomograph sol uti on by l ocati ng
starti ng poi nt on l ength scal e. To l ocate
the proper starti ng poi nt on the l ength
scal e, fol l ow i nstructi ons bel ow:
(a)
(b)
(c)
I f the n val ue of the nomograph corre-
sponds to that of the cul vert bei ng used,
on the appropri ate nomograph l ocate
starti ng poi nt on l ength curve for the
for the cul vert sel ected di ffers from that
of the nomograph, see (c) bel ow.
i ntermedi ate between the scal es gi ven,
connect the gi ven l ength on adjacent
scal es by a strai ght l i ne and sel ect a poi nt
on thi s l i ne spaced between the two chart
For a di fferent val ue of roughness coef-
fi ci ent n
l
than that of the chart n, use
the l ength scal es shown wi th an ad-
justed l ength L
l
, cal cul ated by the for-
mul a:
(See subpara b bel ow for n val ues.)
(3)
(4)
Usi ng a strai ght edge, connect poi nt on
l ength scal e to si ze of cul vert barrel and
mark the poi nt of crossi ng on the turni ng
l i ne. See i nstructi on c bel ow for si ze con-
si derati ons for rectangul ar box cul vert.
Pi vot the strai ght edge on thi s poi nt on
the turni ng l i ne and-connect gi ven di s-
charge rate. Read head i n feet on the head
scal e. For val ues beyond the l i mi t of the
chart scal es, fi nd H by sol vi ng equati on
gi ven i n nomograph or by H = KQ
2
wher e
K i s found by substi tuti ng val ues of H and
Q from chart.
b. Tabl e B3 i s used to fi nd the n val ue for the
cul vert sel ected.
c. To use the box-cul vert nomograph (fi g B17)
for ful l fl ow for other than square boxes:
(1) Compute cross-secti onal area of the rec-
tangul ar box.
Note: The area scal e on the nomograph i s cal cul ated
for barrel cross secti ons wi th span B twi ce the
hei ght D; i ts cl ose correspondence wi th area
of square boxes assures i t may be used for al l
secti ons i ntermedi ate between square and B
= 2D or B = 2/3D. For other box proporti ons
use equati on shown i n nomograph for more
accurate resul ts.
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap. 4
Table B-3. Roughness Coefficients for Various Pipes
n = 0.012 for smooth interior pipes of any size, shape or type*
n Value for Annular Corrugated Metal
Unpaved
0.011-0.014
24-30 inches 0.016-0.018
36-96 inches 0.019-0.024 0.017-0.021
*Includes asbestos cement, bituminized fiber, cast iron, clay, concrete (precast or cast-in-place) or fully paved (smooth interior) corruga -
ted metal pipe.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
NOTE: Limitations helical coefficient - The designer must assure that fully developed spiral flow can occur in his design situa-
tion before selecting the lower resistance factor. Fully developed spiral flow, and the corresponding lower resistance factors, can only
occur when the conduit flows full. For conduits shorter than 20 diameters long, it is felt that the full development of spiral flow cannot
be assured. Bed load deposition on the culvert invert may hinder the development of spiral flow until sediment is washed out. When
these conditions exist, the resistance factors for annular C.M .P. of the same size and corrugation shape should be used.
(2) Connect proper point (see para B-6b ) on
length scale to barrel area and mark point
on turning line.
(3) Pivot the straight edge on this point on
the turning line and connect given dis-
charge rate. Read head in feet on the head
scale.
B-7. Culvert c apac ity c harts. Figures B-26 through
B-43, prepared by the Bureau of Public Roads,
present headwater discharge relations convenient
for use in design of culverts of the most common
types and sizes. The solid-line curve for each type
and size represents for a given length: slope ratio
the culvert capacity with control at the inlet; these
curves are based generally on model data. For those
culvert types for which a dashed-line curve is shown
in addition to a solid-line curve, the dashed line
represents for a given length: slope ratio the dis-
charge capacity for free flow and control at the out-
let; these curves are based on experimental data and
backwater computations. The length: slope ratio is
case is the value at which the discharge with outlet
control equals the discharge with inlet control. For
culverts with free flow and control at the outlet,
values is permitted in the range of headwater depths
equal to or less than twice the barrel height. The
upper limit of this range of headwater depths is
designated by a horizontal dotted line on the charts.
do not impose any limitation; merely read the solid-
line curves. The symbol AHW means allowable
headwater depth. The charts permit rapid selection
of a culvert size to meet a given headwater limitation
for various entrance conditions and types and shapes
of pipe. One can enter with a given discharge and
read vertically upward to the pipe size that will carry
the flow to satisfy the headwater limitation of the
design criteria. The major restriction on the use of
the charts is that free flow must exist at the outlet.
In most culvert installations free flow exists, i.e.,
flow passes through critical depth near the culvert
outlet. For submerged flow conditions the solution
can be obtained by use of the outlet control nomo-
graphs.
Change 1 B-31
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap. 4
2
I
6
14
12
B-32
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
Figure B27. Culvert capacity circulur concrete pipe groove-edged entrance 6O'' to 18O''.
B-33
TM 5820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
B- 34
TM 5-820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4

B-35
I
TM 5820-4AFM 88-5, Chap 4
8
7
2
I
8
7
2
I
o 10 2 0 3 0 4 0 5 0 6 0
BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS
B-36
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
.
B37
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
B38
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
B-39
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
TM 5820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
B41
TM 5-820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
9
8
7
B-42
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
9
8
B-43
I
TM 5-820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
B - 44
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
B45
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
B-46
TM 5-820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
5
I I
, / I / t LTAI I I
B-47
TM 5820-4/AFM 885, Chap 4
9
8
1
3
2
10
9
8
t-
W
u
L7
w
x
4
3
2
B-48
TM 5820-4/AFM 88-5, Chap 4
B-49