HYDRAULICS LABORATORY FACT SHEET

Research that is Essential, Indispensable, and Connected to our Customers.

TURNER-FAIRBANK HIGHWAY RESEARCH CENTER • Office of Infrastructure R&D

The Turner-Fairbank Highway Research 

Center (TFHRC) has more than 24 

laboratories for research in the following 

areas: safety; operations, including 

intelligent transportation systems; materials 

technology; pavements; structures; and 

human centered systems. The expertise of 

TFHRC scientists and engineers covers more 

than 20 transportation-related disciplines. 

These laboratories are a vital resource for 

advancing this body of knowledge created 

and nurtured by our researchers. The 

Federal Highway Administration’s Office 

of Research, Development, and Technology 

operates and manages TFHRC to conduct 

innovative research to provide solutions to 

transportation problems both nationwide 

and internationally. TFHRC is located in 

McLean, Virginia. Information on TFHRC is 

available on the Web at www.tfhrc.gov.

This RD&T fact sheet provides concise information about a TFHRC facility.

Pur p ose

The Hydraulics Laboratory is a state-of-the art 

facility used to conduct a variety of experiments 

pertaining to water. Among other things, this 

laboratory provides a means of testing the 

hydraulic properties of submerged bridges and 

the hydraulic properties of highway drainage 

structures and stream crossings. The laboratory provides operational engineers with the 

design tools needed to complete their tasks. 

For example, engineers have used the facility to solve stream stability problems, develop 

design standards for bridges in high flood risk 

areas, and contribute to design standards for 

scouring around bridge piers and submerged 

bridge decks. 

Descri p tion

The Hydraulics Laboratory consists of a physical 

modeling facility and a numerical modeling 

facility that work in tandem; one extrapolates 

results, and the other verifies and calibrates the 

results. The modeling facilities consist of the 

following:

•	 The physical modeling facility features multiple hydraulic flumes of varying functions 

and sizes. The most prominent flume is a 

1.8-m-wide by 21.3-m-long (6-ft-wide by 

70-ft-long) tilting flume. This flume has 

a sediment recess for local scour modeling 

and a total pumping capacity of 22,712 

L/min (15-ft3/s) with variable-frequency 

drives capable of simulating in-flow hydrographs. Adjacent to the tilting flume sits a 

0.4-m-wide by 12.8-m-long (1.3-ft-wide by 

42-ft-long) force-balance flume. With a force 

balance capable of measuring horizontal, 

vertical, and rotational forces on an object, 

this flume includes a shear stress sensor at 

the base of the flume, 12 ultrasonic depth 

sensors used to measure water elevation at 

multiple locations along the tank, and a 

wave generator capable of inducing multiple 

wave patterns at varying heights and intensities. In addition to the flumes, the physical 

modeling facility includes several Particle 

Image Velocimetry (PIV) testing stations, 

which are capable of recording 2-dimensional (2-D), 3-dimensional (3-D), and 3-component (3-C) 3-D PIV data. There is also a 

culvert test facility for evaluating entrance 

loss coefficients for various culvert inlets.

•	 The laboratory’s numerical modeling occurs 

at the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). 

In collaboration with Turner Fairbanks 

Highway Research Center (TFHRC), the ANL, 

which is located outside Chicago, IL, is studying Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-

based simulation techniques. Engineers 

compare these CFD simulations to the PIV 

tests run within the laboratory. They also 

use the simulations to address questions 

regarding coastal, inland, and environmental hydraulics with an emphasis on bridge 

scouring.

MAJ OR CO M P ONENTS

The physical modeling facility includes

•	A 1.8-m-wide by 21.3-m-long (6-ft-wide by 

70-ft-long) tilting flume.

•	A 0.4-m-wide by 12.8-m-long (1.3-ft-wide by 

42-ft-long) force-balance flume, including a 

wave generator.

•	A multihazard test flume for investigating 

structural dynamics under coincident hazards including seismic and flooding events.

•	 Two pumps with a total pumping capacity 

of 22,712 L/min (15 ft3/s) and variable frequency drives capable of simulating in-flow 

hydrographs.

•	A unique flow visualization capability to 

illustrate complex flow patterns around 

bridge piers and to evaluate potential scour 

countermeasures.

•	A customized small-scale PIV system with a 

laser light source and high-resolution digital 

cameras that measure complex flow patterns 

in an entire section of flow. 

•	Fully automated and programmable instrument carriages to facilitate data acquisition 

for all experiments.

•	 Twelve desktop computers, two notebook 

computers, two National InstrumentsTM 

PXI systems with LabVIEWTM Application 

Builder® software for Real Time data acquisition and processing, two field point systems 

for data acquisition and control of experiments, and a Local Area Network system for 

transferring data between computers.

The numerical modeling facility includes

•	A dedicated CFD modeling station located 
at the ANL. Engineers create CFD models of 

particular physical setups and analyze them 

twice using FLUENT and STAR CD. Then they 

compare the models to check for consistency.

A CCO MPL IS H M ENTS

The laboratory’s accomplishments include the 

following:

•	 Conducted several forensic investigations of 

major bridge collapses, including the 1989 

Hatchie River bridge failure in Tennessee and 

the 1995 I-5 bridge collapse in California.

•	Investigated bridge scour countermeasure 

ideas and development.

•	 Developed criteria currently in the Federal 

Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) 

Hydraulics Engineering Circular (HEC)-23 

for protection of piers and abutments from 

scour.

•	 Developed guidelines currently in FHWA’s 

HEC-18 for estimating scour around piers 

with complex geometries.

•	 Conducted junction loss experiments for 

storm sewer analyses using 3-D PIV experiments to evaluate proposed modifications to 

those routines.

•	 Conducted model studies (physical and numerical) for scour evaluation of the Woodrow 

Wilson Bridge, which spans the Potomac 

River between Virginia and Maryland.

•	 Conducted a model study for a proposed 

bridge over the Milwaukee River where a 

major sanitary line could be undermined by 

bridge scour.

•	 Conducted culvert entrance loss studies 

for Iowa, South Dakota, and the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Conducted scour in bottomless culverts studies 

for the Maryland State Highway Administration.

E x p ertise

The laboratory staff consists of the following 

members who have expertise in fluid measurement techniques, including high-speed digital 

photography of illuminated flow sections using a 

high energy pulsed laser for 2-D and 3-D PIV. 

•	Laboratory Manager with a doctorate in fluid 

mechanics and more than 15 years of laboratory experience.

•	 Research Engineer (contract) with a master’s 

in electronics and computer science.

•	 Research Technicians and Electronic 

Engineers (contract) with contemporary 

experience in instrumentation and data processing.

Furthermore, the laboratory has access to professionals experienced in systems analysis, risk 

analysis, urban drainage design, and CFD modeling.

Laboratory Manager: Kornel Kerenyi

E-mail: kornel.kerenyi@fhwa.dot.gov

Voicemail: 202-493-3142

Web site: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/engineering/

hydraulics/research/lab.cfm

LAB OR A TOR Y PA RTNERS

The Hydraulics Laboratory has partnered 

with the Alaska Department of Transportation 

(DOT), Georgia DOT, Iowa DOT, Maryland 

State Highway Administration (SHA), Michigan 

DOT, Minnesota DOT, Pennsylvania DOT, 

South Dakota DOT, Texas DOT, Utah DOT, 

Vermont Agency of Transportation, Arlington 

County, Department of Energy (through ANL), 

FEMA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), and United States 

Geological Survey (USGS).

FHWA-HRT-07-054

HRDI-07/10-07(1M)E