Improving the Design of Curb Openings in Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Conference
Stoolmiller, S, Ebrahimian, A, Wadzuk, BM et al. (2018). Improving the Design of Curb Openings in Green Stormwater Infrastructure
. 168-175. 10.1061/9780784481783.020
Stoolmiller, S, Ebrahimian, A, Wadzuk, BM et al. (2018). Improving the Design of Curb Openings in Green Stormwater Infrastructure
. 168-175. 10.1061/9780784481783.020
The Green City Clean Waters Research Center (GCCWRC), a partnership between Villanova University and the Philadelphia Water Department, has identified several key areas of research needs related to green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). The work of this partnership addresses specific concerns of the water department and is performed under contract with specific deliverables. Curb opening design is a key area that is underrepresented in published technical literature and GSI research. Major considerations are opening size needed to capture the desired stormwater flow volume into stormwater management practices (SMPs) and flow path configuration needed to keep trash, debris, and sediment out of the SMP to avoid blockage. The design equations from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which are usually used to size the curb openings, are created for large scale highway projects and do not result in appropriate results for GSI. To address this problem, field investigations were performed on more than 140 curb openings in Philadelphia, PA, including surveying and visual inspections for measuring dimensions and slopes, and evaluating the general condition of curb openings. Based on the results of the field investigations, curb openings were categorized in different design groups. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of curb openings was performed to analyze the efficiency of different design schemes and to investigate how and where modifications can improve efficiency.
