CE 462

HEC-RAS Final Project

Zahin Chowdhury
Joe Samolewicz
Yiang Xiao

May 6, 2015

Contents
I.

Introduction............................................................................................................. 3

II.

Geometry of Flow...................................................................................................... 4

III.

Structure 1 Pipe..................................................................................................... 7

IV.

Structure 2 Box Culvert......................................................................................... 10

V.

Structure 3 Bridge................................................................................................. 12

VI.

Conclusion........................................................................................................... 14

I.

Introduction

In this project, we were given a map of Green Garden Road, which contains a river that flow
alongside the roads in the map. In this project we designed three different structures to travel
across the river. The three hydraulic structures we designed are a corrugated metal pipe, a box
culvert, and a bridge. The map was made in AutoCAD, from where we took data for multiple
cross sections and designed the structure in HEC-RAS to test flow. Below is the original map
used to create the project.

Figure 1 CAD Model of Green Garden Road

II.

Geometry of Flow

From the AutoCAD file, we took ten cross sections along the river. We created an alignment
along the river and then created sample lines from where we developed the cross section. We
then imported this information to HEC-RAS to create our geometry. We then created a plan that
includes flow rates ranging from 60 cfs to 150 cfs at 10 cfs interval. We then created profile view
of the river, which we used to calculated the S 0 values upstream and downstream at normal
depth. The S0 values calculated were 0.038 for the upstream and 0.026 for the downstream.
Below are the cross sections as viewed on HEC-RAS and AutoCAD drawing of where cross
sections were taken from.
Cross Section station 0+00

Cross Section station 1+00

Cross Section station 2+00

Cross Section station 3+00

Cross Section Station 5+00

Cross section Station 6+00

Cross Section station 7+00

Cross Section station 8+00

Cross Section station 9+00

Cross section station 10+00

Figure 2 Cross Sections taken from AutoCad

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Plan: P lan 04

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Elevation (ft)

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Main Channel Distance (ft)

Figure 3 Profile view of river

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800

III.

Structure 1 Pipe

The first structure we designed for crossing the river was a corrugated metal pipe with a 3 foot
diameter. The pipe was placed at station 0+80. From the AutoCAD file of Green Garden Road,
this station had least amount of elevation change along the bank and requires the least amount of
work due to the lack of trees around the surrounding. Due to the pipe having a small cross
sectional area, the water would over flow over the roadway unless the elevation is reasonably
brought up 10 feet above the bank station. Below is the cross sectional views of pipe at the
upstream and downstream ends as well as the rating curve of the pipe.

Figure 4 Cross Section of Pipe

Figure 5 Rating Curve of Pip

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Plan: Plan 04

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Elevation (ft)

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Main Channel Distance (ft)

Figure 6 Profile with pipe flow

IV.

Structure 2 Box Culvert

The second option we analyzed was an 8x8 box culvert. We placed the box culvert at the same
location as pipe. The cross section was much larger than the pipe, so there was no problem of
overflow onto roadway. Also, there was far less concrete needed to create the roadway, which
makes it more feasible than the pipe. The following two figures show the cross section views of
the culvert and the rating curve.

Figure 7 Cross Section of Box Culvert

Figure 8 Rating Curve of Box Culvert

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proj

Plan: Plan 04

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Elevation (ft)

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Main Channel Distance (ft)

Figure 9 Profile with box culvert

V.

Structure 3 Bridge

The third hydraulic structure we designed was a bridge. The bridge was placed at the same
station as the other two culvert structures. The bridge was modeled to have two piers with a
uniform width of 2 feet. The following two figures show the cross section views of the designed
bridge and the rating curve of the structure.

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Figure 10 Cross Section of Bridge

Figure 11 Rating Curve of Bridge

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proj

Plan: Plan 04

5/6/2015

final proj final project

1540

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Elevation (ft)

1520

1510

1500

1490

200

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600
Main Channel Distance (ft)

Figure 12 Profile with bridge

VI. Conclusion
All three proposed hydraulic structures were designed to be placed at the same station. From the
analysis of the three designed structures, we need to decide which structure is the optimal choice
for this project. Since the pipe has a small diameter, the roadway needed to be brought up extra
10 feet in order to prevent overflow caused by large flow rates. Therefore, this structure would
require a lot more concrete and other materials to build. In addition, the water surface elevation
increases drastically, in comparison to the other two structures, as flow rate increases. This
makes the pipe an unideal design for the given situation. For the box culvert and the bridge, the
rating curves are somewhat similar. However, a bridge is generally a more complex structure
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than a box culvert and requires more materials, labor, and money to construct. Therefore, for the
given project, we believe that the box culvert is the best design among all three, because of its
relatively better performance under different flow rate scenarios as well as relatively less amount
of materials and potential cost.

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