Energy losses through junction manholes. Volume 1. Research report and design guide. Laboratory report, October 1986-September 1992

The objective of this report is to develop and test methodologies for computing energy losses at junction manholes. Laboratory data obtained over a 6-year period at the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Hydraulics Laboratory are analyzed within the framework of three methodologies: the energy grade line, power loss, and neural networks. Descriptions of the methods are presented, along with a statistical analysis comparing the accuracy with which each method computes observed depth in the junction manhole. Volume I provides an overview of the hydraulic conditions at junction manholes and identifies the need to supplement existing data for development of predictive equations for computing energy losses. Also discussed are prior research results, three analytical methods for determining junction losses, and the experimental configurations in the laboratory. This report also provides a detailed analysis and performance comparison of each of the three methodologies analyzed. Guidance is given as to which methodology may be most appropriate in computing the energy losses through a pipe system. Volume II documents the physical and hydraulic data collected for each of the 739 laboratory experiments performed. This volume is the first in a series. The other volume in the series is FHWA-RD-94-081 Volume II: Experimental Data.