Overview
Purpose
CHUTE is a hydraulic design program for the design of rock chute structures used for stabilising river and stream beds.
Target user group
The program CHUTE is designed for use by engineers in Catchment Management Authorities, Local Government Organisations, and consulting practices who are involved in river and stream rehabilitation and restoration studies.
Complexity
With its user-friendly interface and supporting documentation, CHUTE is very easy to use. It is, however, a design tool and, for informed application of the program, users should have a sound knowledge of basic river hydraulics, including concepts of flow profile calculation, mechanisms of bed instability, and gradient control.
Example applications
The CHUTE program is an updated, WINDOWS-based, user-friendly version of an earlier DOS-based program of the same name that was developed by Ian Drummond and Associates (now Earth Tech Pty. Ltd.). The underlying theory has had wide application throughout Victoria. Many rock chutes have been designed at locations including the Cann and Mitchell Rivers, Victoria
Overview of features, advantage and benefits
CHUTE provides a user-friendly interface that allows a number of different chute layouts to be quickly and efficiently designed. A major advantage of the new software is that it identifies the critical flow rate, with respect to the chute design, which is often substantially lower than the maximum design flow rate. The program calculates the required stone size throughout the prescribed flow range and provides detailed design information at the identified critical flow. The user selects a downstream boundary condition from a range of options.
