Hydraulic Data Comparison of Concrete and Corrugated Metal Culvert Pipes

Full-scale tests were conducted at the St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory of the University of Minnesota primarily for the purpose of obtaining pipe friction and entrance loss coefficients for concrete and corrugated metal culvert pipes, which would be more accurate and dependable than those currently recommended in culvert design literature. Comparison of these test data is presented in this paper and recommendations are given for design values of the coefficients under various flow conditions. The experimental studies were made on new culverts, all of which were installed and maintained with excellent alignment. A high degree of accuracy was possible in these tests for all of the culverts. Sizes up to 3 ft in diameter were investigated. Analytical studies were made of the data obtained from the experimental observations which were significant to basic pipe flow theory where systematic form roughness and large diameters come into consideration.