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The Manning formula is used routinely to calculate the mean velocity of uniform flow. Although this empirical formula is effective when applied to uniform flow in simple rectangular or trapezoidal cross sections, the roughness coefficient of the formula is variable when examining flow in a pipe that is partially full. Thus, the coefficient must be altered depending on the relative depth of fluid in the pipe. As this seems to be due to the definition of the hydraulic radius, a new definition of hydraulic radius is proposed here that was used to calculate a hydraulic elements chart for flow in pipes with a constant roughness coefficient. The results of the calculations showed very good agreement with Camp's chart. Furthermore, with adjustment of the 'free-surface weight factor,' this method was also capable of expressing other hydraulic elements charts reported previously. This new definition of hydraulic radius can also be applied to flow in simple cross sections and may be developed further for use with compound channel flows in future studies. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2006)132:9(990) CE Database subject headings: Uniform flow; Pipe flow; Open channel flow; Sewer pipes; Velocity; Numerical models.