Culverts are designed to carry water from one side of an embankment to another. There are many culverts under a typical highway and they add significantly to its cost. The hydraulic design of a culvert is surprisingly complex and since its primary purpose is to convey water, it is important that it has the full intended flow capacity. The objective of this thesis was to develop a computer program to help an engineer with the hydraulic design of culverts. The user of the program can choose between designing a new culvert or checking the adequacy of an existing culvert from a hydraulic, point of view. The program handles the problem of sediment deposition that can occur and reduce the capacity of culverts having gentle slopes. The most widely used culvert shapes are included in the program and in this thesis. Comments are provided on the conditions under which certain shapes are best. Culvert inlets are given, and some improved inlet designs are presented since the inlet design can have a major impact on the cost of the culvert. Also, erosion at the culvert outlet is discussed and suggestions are provided on how to prevent it or cope with it. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 110 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-94).