News
| 08 February 2022

Two resources are helping engineers with trench drain sizing

Sponsored by ACO

When engineers are creating drainage designs for their projects, they need to make sure their trench drain system is adapted to the site’s unique requirements. An oversimplified approach to a project specific problem serves no one and can have significant downsides.

“If you’ve over-specified the size of the drain, it runs dry most of the time, meaning you will not be able to generate enough water velocity to keep it clear and usable,” says John Sordo, Head of Marketing and Product Management at ACO and a civil engineer by training.

“It collects rubbish and soil and becomes a big planter box for weeds. Drains that are too large also cost considerably more. Conversely, if the drain is too small, narrow or shallow, you’ll experience ponding or flooding. Water passes over the drain and starts transgressing into areas it is supposed to protect.”

To help engineers understand the science, and to assist them in preventing the above negative outcomes, Sordo authored and released a free whitepaper that takes the guesswork out of trench drain sizing. It includes an explanation of how drainage channels and grates operate in the real world and what you need to consider when selecting the right solution for varying project requirements.

In mid-2021, the company went a step further, and coded the theory outlined in the whitepaper into an intuitive trench drain sizing calculator. Called HYDROlite, it’s a free-to-use hydraulic design program that can instantly offer a precise solution using the equation for steady, non-uniform flow (the same outlined in the whitepaper).

The calculator was released this year and has already helped a lot of engineers with their projects. All it requires is a catchment’s hydraulic data and it will correctly model the flow profile in the channel run, which determines a run’s utilisation (as a percentage).

The calculator can be called on again and again to ensure sites don’t suffer from poor drainage and engineers don’t take a hit to their reputations.

“The right trench drain does a lot more than remove water efficiently,” says Sordo. “It ensures a tailored solution to keep pavements safe and usable.”

View ACO’s free project services for surface water management.