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Culvert Analysis Program Graphical User Interface 1.0--A preprocessing and postprocessing tool for estimating flow through culvert

Fact Sheet 2013-3045
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https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20133045

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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
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
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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