Purpose and Background

The analysis of bridge hydraulics is a common task faced by engineers working on transportation, land development, and flood control projects. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center’s HEC-RAS software program is a widely used tool for various open-channel hydraulics analysis and design tasks. One facet of this software package is the analysis of losses due to bridge structures in open channels with various methodologies.

Due to the widespread use of HEC-RAS in the engineering community, it is not uncommon for the software to be applied in the analysis of existing and proposed bridge structures. However, the ease of use of the software does not always mean that the engineer has a full understanding of what the program is doing when performing the hydraulic calculations. The various choices for the different hydraulic variables involved in a bridge analysis can quickly become confusing for an engineer that is not familiar with the methodologies employed by the software and can produce unrealistic results if not properly chosen.

This webinar will focus on explaining the details involved in a bridge hydraulics analysis within HEC-RAS. The fundamental hydraulic variables will be discussed along with the solution techniques employed within the software program to calculate energy losses through bridge structures. The presentation will draw heavily from the HEC-RAS Hydraulic Reference Manual and use several analysis examples from the HEC-RAS software.

Learning Outcomes/Benefits

• Learn basic bridge hydraulics within HEC-RAS
• Discuss the different hydraulic variables used in bridge analysis
• Become familiar with bridge analysis input and output

Intended Audience

Civil engineers seeking an introductory level course on bridge hydraulics analysis using the HEC-RAS software program will benefit from this webinar.

Webinar Outline

•  Introduction to HEC-RAS and bridge hydraulics methodologies within the software
• Bridge hydraulics variables
• Low flow bridge hydraulics
• High flow bridge hydraulics
• Implementation with HEC-RAS
• Sample analysis input and output
• Step-by-step example for simple bridge analysis