Culvert Analysis Program Graphical User Interface 1.0--A preprocessing and postprocessing tool for estimating flow through culvert
Fact Sheet
2013-3045
By: D. Nathan Bradley
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Abstract
The peak discharge of a flood can be estimated from the elevation of high-water marks near the inlet and outlet of a culvert after the flood has occurred. This type of discharge estimate is called an “indirect measurement” because it relies on evidence left behind by the flood, such as high-water marks on trees or buildings. When combined with the cross-sectional geometry of the channel upstream from the culvert and the culvert size, shape, roughness, and orientation, the high-water marks define a water-surface profile that can be used to estimate the peak discharge by using the methods described by Bodhaine (1968). This type of measurement is in contrast to a “direct” measurement of discharge made during the flood where cross-sectional area is measured and a current meter or acoustic equipment is used to measure the water velocity. When a direct discharge measurement cannot be made at a streamgage during high flows because of logistics or safety reasons, an indirect measurement of a peak discharge is useful for defining the high-flow section of the stage-discharge relation (rating curve) at the streamgage, resulting in more accurate computation of high flows. The Culvert Analysis Program (CAP) (Fulford, 1998) is a command-line program written in Fortran for computing peak discharges and culvert rating surfaces or curves. CAP reads input data from a formatted text file and prints results to another formatted text file. Preparing and correctly formatting the input file may be time-consuming and prone to errors. This document describes the CAP graphical user interface (GUI)—a modern, cross-platform, menu-driven application that prepares the CAP input file, executes the program, and helps the user interpret the output
Suggested Citation
Bradley, D.N., 2013, Culvert Analysis Program Graphical User Interface 1.0--A preprocessing and postprocessing tool for estimating flow through culvert: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2013-3045, 4 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20133045.
ISSN: 2327-6932 (online)
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Culvert Analysis Program Graphical User Interface 1.0--A preprocessing and postprocessing tool for estimating flow through culvert |
| Series title | Fact Sheet |
| Series number | 2013-3045 |
| DOI | 10.3133/fs20133045 |
| Year Published | 2013 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Hydrologic Analysis Software Support Program |
| Description | 4 p. |
| Online Only (Y/N) | Y |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |