4.

6 Design Procedures For Beveled-Edged Inlets

4.6.1 Introduction
Improved inlets include inlet geometry refinements beyond those normally used in conventional
culvert design practice. Several degrees of improvements are possible, including bevel-edged,
side-tapered, and slope-tapered inlets. Those designers interested in using side-and slope-tapered
inlets should consult the detailed design criteria and example designs outlined in the U. S.
Department of Transportation publication Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 5 entitled,
Hydraulic Design of Highway Culverts.

4.6.2 Design Figures

Four inlet control figures for culverts with beveled edges are included in the hydrograph tables.

Chart Use for -

3 Circular pipe culverts with beveled rings
10 90o headwalls (same for90o wingwalls)
11 skewed headwalls
12 wingwalls with flare angles of 18 to 45

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Figure 4-4 Culvert Design Calculations
Source: Georgia Stormwater Design Manual

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The following symbols are used in these figures:

B -Width of culvert barrel or diameter of pipe culvert

D -Height of box culvert or diameter of pipe culvert
Hf -Depth of pool or head, above the face section of invert
N -Number of barrels
Q -Design discharge

4.6.3 Design Procedure

The figures for bevel-edged inlets are used for design in the same manner as the conventional
inlet design nomographs discussed earlier. Note that Charts 10, 11, and 12 in Appendix A apply
only to bevels having either a 33o angle (1.5:1) or a 45o angle (1:1).

For box culverts the dimensions of the bevels to be used are based on the culverts dimensions.
The top bevel dimension is determined by multiplying the height of the culvert by a factor. The
side bevel dimensions are determined by multiplying the width of the culvert by a factor. For a
1:1 bevel, the factor is ½ inch/ft. For a 1.5:1 bevel the factor is 1 inch/ ft. For example the
minimum bevel dimensions for an 8 ft x 6 ft box culvert with 1:1 bevels would be:

Top Bevel = d = 6 ft x ½ inch/ ft = 3 inches

Side Bevel = b = 8 ft x ½ inch/ ft = 4 inches

For a 1.5:1 bevel computations would result in d = 6 and b = 8 inches.

4.6.4 Design Figure Limits

The improved inlet design figures are based on research results from culvert models with barrel
width, B, to depth, D, ratios of from 0.5:1 to 2:1. For box culverts with more than one barrel, the
figures are used in the same manner as for a single barrel, except that the bevels must be sized on
the basis of the total clear opening rather than on individual barrel size.

For example, in a double 8 ft by 8 ft box culvert:

Top Bevel -is proportioned based on the height of 8 ft which results in a bevel of 4 in. for
the 1:1 bevel and 8 in. for the 1.5:1 bevel.

Side Bevel -is proportioned based on the clear width of 16 ft which results in a bevel of 8
in. for the 1:1 bevel and 16 in. for the 1.5:1 bevel.

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 4.6.5 Multibarrel Installations
For multibarrel installations exceeding a 3:1 width to depth ratio, the side bevels become
excessively large when proportioned on the basis of the total clear width. For these structures, it
is recommended that the side bevel be sized in proportion to the total clear width, B, or three
times the height, whichever is smaller.

The top bevel dimension should always be based on the culvert height.

The shape of the upstream edge of the intermediate walls of multibarrel installations is not as
important to the hydraulic performance of a culvert as the edge condition of the top and sides.
Therefore, the edges of these walls may be square, rounded with a radius of one-half of the
thickness, chamfered, or beveled. The intermediate walls may also project from the face and
slope downward to the channel bottom to help direct debris through the culvert.

Multibarrel pipe culverts should be designed as a series of single barrel installations since each
pipe requires a separate bevel.

4.6.6 Skewed Inlets

It is recommended that Chart 11 for skewed inlets not be used for multiple barrel installations, as
the intermediate wall could cause an extreme contraction in the downstream barrels. This would
result in under design due to a greatly reduced capacity. Skewed inlets (at an angle with the
centerline of the stream) should be avoided whenever possible, and should not be used with side-
or slope-tapered inlets. It is important to align culverts with streams in order to avoid erosion
problems associated with changing the direction of the natural stream flow.

4.7 Flood Routing and Culvert Design

4.7.1 Introduction
Flood routing through a culvert is a practice that evaluates the effect of temporary upstream
ponding caused by the culvert's backwater. By not considering flood routing it is possible that
the findings from culvert analyses will be conservative. If the selected allowable headwater is
considered acceptable without flood routing, then costly over design of both the culvert and
outlet protection may result, depending on the amount of temporary storage involved. However,
if storage is used in the design of culverts, consideration should be given to:

x the total area of flooding,

x the average time that bankfull stage is exceeded for the design flood up to 48 hours in
rural areas or 6 hours in urban areas, and

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 x ensuring that the storage area will remain available for the life of the culvert through the
purchase of right-of-way or easement.

Ignoring temporary storage effects on reducing the selected design flood magnitude by assuming
that this provides a factor of safety is not recommended. This practice results in inconsistent
factors of safety at culvert sites as it is dependent on the amount of temporary storage at each
site. Further, with little or no temporary storage at a site the factor of safety would be unity
thereby precluding a factor of safety. If a factor of safety is desired, it is essential that flood
routing practices be used to insure consistent and defensible factors of safety are used at all
culvert sites.

4.7.2 Design Procedure

The design procedure for flood routing through a culvert is the same as for reservoir routing. The
site data and roadway geometry are obtained and the hydrology analysis completed to include
estimating a hydrograph. Once this essential information is available, the culvert can be
designed. Flood routing through a culvert can be time consuming. It is recommended that the
HY8 computer program be used as it contains software that very quickly routes floods through a
culvert to evaluate an existing culvert (review), or to select a culvert size that satisfies given
criteria (design). However, the engineer should be familiar with the culvert flood routing design
process.

A Multiple trial and error procedure is required for culvert flood routing. In general:

x a trial culvert( s) is selected,

x a trial discharge for a particular hydrograph time increment (selected time increment to
estimate discharge from the design hydrograph) is selected,

x flood routing computations are made with successive trial discharges until the flood
routing equation is satisfied,

x the hydraulic findings are compared to the selected site criteria, and

x if the selected site criteria are satisfied then a trial discharge for the next time increment is
selected and this procedure is repeated; if not, a new trial culvert is selected and the entire
procedure is repeated.

4.8 HY8 Culvert Analysis Microcomputer Program

Although the charts and nomographs given in this chapter can be used for culvert design, many
designs require roadway overtopping analysis and other analysis, which makes the computation
tedious. For these reasons most designers used computer programs for culvert design and

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analysis. The HY8 culvert analysis microcomputer program is one very popular culvert design
and analysis program that will perform the calculations for the following:

1. culvert analysis (including independent multiple barrel sizing)

2. hydrograph generation
3. hydrograph routing
4. roadway overtopping
5. outlet scour estimates

4.9 References
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. 1982. Highway Drainage
Guidelines.
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. 1998. Model Drainage
Manual.
Debo, Thomas N. and andrew J. Reese. Municipal Stormwater Management. Lewis Publishers.
1995.
Federal Highway Administration. 1978. Hydraulics of Bridge Waterways. Hydraulic Design
Series No. 1.
Federal Highway Administration. 1985. Hydraulic Design of Highway Culverts. Hydraulic
Design Series No. 5.
Federal Highway Administration. 1971. Debris-Control Structures. Hydraulic Engineering
Circular No. 9.
Federal Highway Administration. 1987. HY8 Culvert Analysis Microcomputer Program
Applications Guide. Hydraulic Microcomputer Program HY8.
Federal Highway Administration. 1996. Urban Drainage Design Manual. Hydraulic Engineering
Circular No. 22.
HYDRAIN Culvert Computer Program (HY8). Available from McTrans Software, University of
Florida, 512 Weil Hall, Gainesville, Florida 32611.
U. S. Department of Interior. 1983. Design of Small Canal Structures.

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