Bureau of Reclamation Hydraulic Laboratory

by Philip H. Burgi, US Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO, USA,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Water for Resource Development

Abstract:

The Bureau of Reclamation used hydraulic models for the first time in 1930 in the laboratory of the Colorado Agriculture Experimental Station in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 1946 the Reclamation laboratories were centralized at the Denver Federal Center. The unprecedented magnitude of Reclamation dams such as Boulder (Hoover), Grand Coulee, and Shasta made establishment of a hydraulic laboratory a necessity for Reclamation design practice. The early years were almost exclusively devoted to studies involving adequacy and safety of large structures. In later years an increased effort was focused on developing general design criteria for typical appurtenances such as spillways and energy dissipators. Current projects and staffing are described.

Subject Headings: Hydraulic models | Hydraulic design | Dams | Structural safety | Spillways | Hydraulic structures | Energy dissipation | Denver | Colorado | United States

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