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CulvertsOnline self-study

Culvert Hydraulics Basics (HDS-5)

1 PDH · about 60 minutes · Course no. BR-CU02 · Instructor: Michael Craig, PE

About the instructor

Michael Craig, PE is Senior Vice President and Southeast Director at Strinteg Corporation, leading bridge inspection and structural engineering across eight states and Puerto Rico. In 27+ years he has inspected over 4,000 structures and completed 3,000+ load ratings and 160+ load tests. He has managed repair and preservation design for complex bridges, including cable-stayed bridges. He holds PE licenses in twelve states, DC and Puerto Rico, SPRAT Level 1, and FAA Part 107 credentials.

A culvert is a hydraulic structure first. Whether it floods the road, scours its own outlet or fills with sediment depends on how water passes through it. This course is built on FHWA Hydraulic Design Series No. 5 (HDS-5), Hydraulic Design of Highway Culverts, 3rd Edition (FHWA-HIF-12-026, April 2012). It covers inlet and outlet control, the outlet-control energy equation, entrance loss coefficients, performance curves, allowable headwater, roadway overtopping, outlet velocity, scour and sedimentation, and how repairs and liners change hydraulic behavior. The aim is to let bridge and culvert inspectors and engineers read field evidence hydraulically and understand what a hydraulic analysis is telling them. All worked numbers not quoted from HDS-5 are labeled illustrative.

⬇ Download study guide (PDF)

Learning objectives

  • Distinguish inlet and outlet control
  • Use performance curves
  • Explain headwater limits
  • Recognize outlet scour issues

Outline

  1. Why culvert hydraulics matters to inspectors
  2. The basic idea: control sections
  3. Inlet control
  4. Outlet control
  5. Entrance loss coefficients (Table C.2)
  6. Illustrative outlet-control calculation
  7. The approximate outlet hydraulic grade line
  8. Performance curves
  9. Headwater, tailwater and allowable headwater
  10. Roadway overtopping
  11. Outlet velocity
  12. Scour at inlets and outlets, and sedimentation
  13. Debris and stream stability
  14. Shapes, materials and tapered inlets
  15. Hydraulics of repair and rehabilitation
  16. Field indicators and a hydraulic checklist
  17. Open the course (22 screens, 2 knowledge checks)
  18. Final quiz — 10 questions, 70% to pass

References

  1. FHWA, HDS-5 Hydraulic Design of Highway Culverts, 3rd Edition, FHWA-HIF-12-026, 2012
  2. FHWA, HDS-5 Hydraulic Design of Highway Culverts, 3rd Edition, FHWA-HIF-12-026, April 2012 (Schall, Thompson, Zerges, Kilgore, Morris), Chapters 1-3, 5 and 6 and Appendix C, Table C.2.