Location of the maximum scouring depth at the outlet of partially-blocked and non-blocked box culvert

Abstract

Among various hydraulic structures, culvert is the most likely one which usually blocks by the debris that are carrying by flow during large flood events. The size of the structure and its location where a waterway crosses a road or railway increases the possibility of clogging. The blockage of culvert accelerates bed scouring at the outlet hence affects bed scouring profile. This leads to increase the risk of culvert collapsed and produce different kinds of damages to the society. The present study concerns the effect of upstream blockage on the scouring profile at the outlet of a box culvert. Therefore, the experimental program was designed to investigate the relationship between the scouring geometry and blockage ratio. The experimental tests were carried out under non-blocked and partially blocked conditions. The sediment material used in this study was uniform non-cohesive sand material. Results showed that the scouring bed profile is different in partially blocked condition when compared to the non-blocked condition. Additionally it was found that the maximum scouring depth in a partially blocked culvert occurred at a distance very close to the outlet of the box culvert. © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, London