The Hydraulic Tools software program v4.0 now has the ability to model Structural Plate culverts as well as BEBO and CON/SPAN culverts.

The Hydraulic Tools program is free to the engineering community.  In the late 1990s, development of the stand-alone program helped to simplify hydraulic analysis of a CON/SPAN structure significantly. The program used FHWA’s HDS5 procedures to determine inlet and outlet control depths for CON/SPAN culverts and bridges.  Inlet control regression coefficients and entrance loss coefficients resulting from the original research project allow users to take advantage of more efficient wingwall configurations which were not available in previous software programs. 

Don Chase, PhD, of the University of Dayton, wrote the original version of Hydraulic Tools to include his research findings and also submitted his data to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  The Corps included these coefficients in the HEC-RAS program, adding the CON/SPAN shapes and even keeping the CON/SPAN name.  Inclusion in HEC-RAS results in a significant time savings for design engineers. 

The program has evolved since its introduction and includes a tailwater calculator, Composite Manning’s Roughness Calculator, box culvert hydraulics, multiple-cell structures with different spans, rises and invert elevations, pier debris model and irregular channel bottom. In 2006, Hydraulic testing also was performed on BEBO shapes, leading to the program’s ability to model the E, C and T series of shapes.

In addition to culvert hydraulics, hydrology calculations may be performed using the SCS Unit Hydrograph, Modified Rational, or user-defined hydrograph methods. Reservoir routing calculations are also available to help size a CON/SPAN underground storage system or other detention structure.

The long list of features and user-friendly design have made the Hydraulic Tools program very popular with design engineers.  The Virginia Department of Transportation has even approved the program for use on VDOT projects and other states are considering following their lead.

CONTECH's goal has always been to make specifying and designing a product as quick and painless as possible for the design engineer.  Hydraulic Tools and other custom software developed by CONTECH over the years has gone a long way toward meeting this goal.