Hydraulics of Iowa DOT Slope- Tapered Pipe Culverts

Publication: Hydraulics of Iowa DOT Slope- Tapered Pipe Culverts (pdf - 1 mb) FHWA-RD-01-077, June 2001

Abstract: This report updates the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) design procedures for circular, slope-tapered concrete culverts. The current practice is to use the design coefficients for a square-edged, circular concrete culvert with a headwall that are found in Hydraulic Series No. 5 (HDS-5). New inlet control design constants and entrance loss coefficients were calculated for the slope-tapered culverts and then compared with the HDS-5 coefficients (square edge). In addition, various reducer lengths and taper ratios were also studied to determine what impact, if any, they have on the design coefficients. All of the laboratory testing was done at the Federal Highway Administration's Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center located in McLean, Virginia.