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Hydraulic Effects of Safety End Treatments on Culvert Performance

by Kathryn Shirley Benson, M.S.E.

ABSTRACT

Safety end treatments (SETs) are designed and installed at inlets and outlets of culverts to reduce potential impacts from vehicular collision with these structures. SETs must be designed with minimal size to limit interference with water flow while maintaining sufficient strength to support a vehicle. SETs are proposed for extensive use on new culvert projects as well as retrofitting existing culvert projects by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). It is necessary to understand the impacts of SETs on culvert hydraulics to ensure they do not affect the functionality of the culvert. SETs function as flow barriers and can affect the hydraulic performance of the culvert in two main ways. First, the “backwater” effect from the installation of SETs may cause an increase in the upstream headwater depth and entrance head losses. Second, SET installation may cause clogging. Both of these effects may lead to flooding of upstream properties since the influence of SETs on headwater depth is usually not accounted for in culvert design procedures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of safety end treatments (SETs) on the hydraulic performance of culverts. The research conducted focuses on the nature of water level difference upstream of the culvert due to SET presence and the vortex phenomenon presence, the development of minor loss coefficients, and understanding the impacts on culvert performance curves. The overall conclusion of this thesis research is that SETs do not have a significant effect on culvert hydraulic performance.

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