CIVE 4337 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Hydraulic Head, Frost Heaving, French Drain

• School: University of Houston
• Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Course: CIVE 4337
• Professor: Smith

Document Summary

It is essential that adequate provision is made for road drainage to ensure that a road pavement performs satisfactorily. The principal types of drainage systems are: open drain, piped (positive) drain, french drain. Open drains are used to carry away surface water and can also pick up some subsoil water (depending on depth). Open drains facilitate the early visual detection of blockages, but their use may be restricted by the lack of roadside space, safety considerations and the risk that they may be closed in by agricultural machinery. A piped positive drain is normally associated with an urban situation and is used in conjunction with gullies and kerbs/footways. It may also be used in some rural embankment situations where it is deemed important that water from the road and hard shoulder should not be allowed to drain onto the embankment. A piped drainage system with gullies requires regular maintenance.