Frank E. Schalla
F.E. Schalla, Effects of flush slab supports on the hydraulic performance of curb inlets and an analysis of design equations, M.S. Thesis, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 114 pgs. May 2016.
Publication year: 2016

ABSTRACT: The new Texas Department of Transportation curb inlet uses 6 inch flush slab supports for the top slab of a curb inlet. HEC-22, which provides design equations used by TxDOT, states flush slab supports can reduce an on-grade inlet’s interception capacity by as much as 50%, yet does not provide any guidance on quantifying these effects. Full-scale physical modeling of the TxDOT curb inlet on-grade was performed to investigate the effects of flush slab supports on hydraulic performance. In addition, the modeled curb inlet is compared with HEC-22 and other curb inlet design equations. No measurable difference in interception capacity or ponded width was found between curb inlets with flush slab supports and without. For the 5 ft modeled curb inlet a combination of Guo and MacKenzie (2012) design equation and HEC-22 align best, yet neither align with every tested slope combination. HEC-22 design equations were found to over-predict the 15 ft modeled curb inlet by an average factor of 2.3:1. No other design equations were found to accurately predict hydraulic performance for the 15 ft modeled curb inlet.