Types of Culvert

Culvert is used to pass the water underneath a road, railway, etc.  Culvert is used to channel water. It is made in different materials like steel, polyvinyl chloride, and concrete.  Concrete  comes in many shapes and sizes, including round, elliptical, flat- bottomed, pear shaped, and box. They vary from small drainage culvert on highways and driveways to large diameter structures.  In US, the boxes or pipes are placed side by side to create a width of greater than twenty feet then culvert is defined as bridge. We will discuss the types of Culvert in the following paragraphs.

Types of Culvert

The types of culvert are

• Pipe Single or multiple
• Pipe arch single or multiple
• Box culvert single or multiple
• Pipe Arch culvert

Pipe Single or Multiple Culverts

These are made of smooth steel, corrugated metal, concrete materials. The pipe culvert is ranging from 1-6 feet in diameter and it is the cheapest among others. The primary purpose is to pass the water under roads, even though some of the wild life uses them as passageways.  For the high stream banks round culvert are best suited.

Pipe Arch Single or Multiple

It is suitable for large waterways and provides the low clearance. At low flows they provide greater hydraulic advantage to fishes and require less road fill.

Box Culvert Single or Multiple

During brief runoff periods, box culvert is used to transmit water. They can have the artificial floor such as concrete. This provides more room for wildlife than the large pipe culverts. Reinforced concrete is used for box culverts.

Pipe Arch Culvert

The pipe arch culvert is round culvert reshaped to allow a lower profile while maintaining the flow characteristics. While installing it with shallow cover, it is good. The Reinforced concrete, corrugated metals or stone masonry are the materials used for the pipe arch culverts, thus the types of culverts.

Maintenance of Culvert

The proper maintenance is primary for the culvert maintenance and getting the best performance out of it. The primary function of the culvert is to help in the movement of water from one place to another, so erosion is the primary issue. The interior of the culvert should be clean always, removal of debris and foreign materials in the culvert. Always be aware of that, tree should not grow in the area around culvert, especially on an embankment.

Questions:

• What is culvert?
• What are the types of culvert?