Assessment of Climatic and Anthropogenic Controls on Bridge Deck Drainage and Sediment Removal
1
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
2
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Chia-Ren Chu
Water 2021, 13(24), 3556; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13243556
Received: 10 November 2021
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Revised: 8 December 2021
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Accepted: 10 December 2021
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Published: 12 December 2021
(This article belongs to the Section Hydraulics and Hydrodynamics)
Bridge deck drainage is essential to prevent hydroplaning and maintain safety along major roadways. With projected changes in climate, current designs may not be sufficient and a better understanding of the primary controls (climate, bridge deck, and inlet design) on the hydraulic efficiency and sediment removal of drainage systems is needed to maintain public safety. To evaluate the controls on hydraulic drainage efficiency, 576 controlled laboratory experiments were conducted testing grate type (rectangular bar vs. curved vane) and downspout configuration (square vs. circular and 20 cm vs. 25 cm) across a range of flow rates, cross slopes, and longitudinal slopes. An additional 144 sediment erosion experiments were performed to identify controls on the removal of sediment. Hydraulic testing indicated that inflow driven by climate is a primary control on drainage efficiency and spread of water on a roadway. For anthropogenic controls, downspout opening size was found to be the primary control followed by longitudinal slope. Sediment removal results indicated that inflow regime and grate type were the primary controls on the sediment removal rate. Given that inflow, driven by climate, is a control on both hydraulic and sediment removal performance, hydraulic engineers should consider forecasted changes in rainfall intensity in their present-day drainage designs. We provide design guidance and discussion for developing a proactive approach to hydraulic infrastructure in the face of future climate uncertainty.
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Keywords:
bridge deck drain; experimental model; design; climate; debris; sediment transport
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MDPI and ACS Style
Michalek, A.; Husic, A.; Roundy, J.; Hansen, A.T. Assessment of Climatic and Anthropogenic Controls on Bridge Deck Drainage and Sediment Removal. Water 2021, 13, 3556. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13243556
AMA Style
Michalek A, Husic A, Roundy J, Hansen AT. Assessment of Climatic and Anthropogenic Controls on Bridge Deck Drainage and Sediment Removal. Water. 2021; 13(24):3556. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13243556
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichalek, Alexander, Admin Husic, Joshua Roundy, and Amy T. Hansen. 2021. "Assessment of Climatic and Anthropogenic Controls on Bridge Deck Drainage and Sediment Removal" Water 13, no. 24: 3556. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13243556
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