Experimental study on concrete box culverts in trenches

Abstract

Concrete box culverts are widely used in expressways in mountain areas. Many problems frequently take place due to improperly estimated vertical earth pressures on culverts. The prevailing Chinese General Code for Design of Highway Bridges and Culverts (CGCDHBC) stipulates the computation of the design load on culverts primarily based on the linear earth pressure theory, which cannot accurately describe the variation of the vertical load on culverts in trenches. In this paper, a full-scale experiment and numerical simulation were conducted to evaluate the variation of vertical earth pressures on culvert and soil arching in backfill. The variations of foundation pressure and settlement were also analyzed. The result revealed that the soil arch forms when the backfill on the culvert reaches a certain height. The soil arching effect reduces the stress concentration on the crown of the culvert but it is unstable. The vertical earth pressure on top of the culvert is significantly different from that recommended by the CGCDHBC

Keywords

culvert / vertical earth pressure / soil arch / full-scale experiment / numerical simulation

References

[1] Kang Zuo, Yang Xiaohua, Xie Yongli, Liu Baojian. Disease mechanism of culvert under embankment of special high-stacked soil. Journal of Chang’an University (Natural Science Edition), 2006, 26(2): 22-26 (in Chinese)

[2] Kang Zuo, Xie Yongli, Feng Zhongju, Yang Xiaohua. Studies on distress mechanism of culverts by centrifugal model test. Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 2006, 28(6): 784-788 (in Chinese)

[3] China Highway Planning and Design Institute. General Code for Design of Highway Bridges and Culverts. Beijing: China Communication Press, 2004 (in Chinese)

[4] Marston A, Anderson A O. The theory of loads on pipes in ditches and tests of cement and clay drain tile and sewer pipes. Bulletin 31, Iowa Engineering Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa, 1913

[5] Marston A. The theory of external loads on closed conduits in the light of the latest experiments. Bulletin 96, Iowa Engineering Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa, 1930

[6] Spangler M G. A theory of loads on negative projecting conduits. In: Proceeding of the Highway Research Board, Tranportation Reserch Board, Washington DC, 1950, 30: 153-161

[7] Spangler M G. Field measurements of the settlement ratios of various highway culverts. Bulletin 171, Iowa Engineering Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa, 1950

[8] Karinski Y S, Dancygier A N, Leviathan I. An analytical model to evaluate the static soil pressure on a buried structure. Engineering Structure, 2003, 25(1): 91-101

[9] Bennett R M, Wood S M, Drumm E C, Rainwater N R. Vertical loads on concrete box culverts under high embankments. Journal of Bridge Engineering, 2005, 10(6): 643-649

[10] Gu Anquan, Guo Tingting, Wang Xingping. Experimental study on reducing-load measurement using EPS of culvert under high-stacked soil. Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 2005, 27(5): 500-504 (in Chinese)

[11] Yang Xiwu, Zhang Yongxing. Study on arch action and earth pressure theory for culverts under high embankment. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 2005, 24(21): 3887-3893 (in Chinese)

[12] Kim K, Yoo C H. Design loading on deeply buried box culverts. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 2005, 131(1): 20-27

[13] Kang J, Parker F, Yoo C H. Soil-structure interaction and imperfect trench installations for deeply buried concrete pipes. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 2007, 133(3): 277-285

[14] China Ministry of Railways. Fundamental Code for Design on Railway Bridge and Culvert. Beijing: China Railway Press, 2005 (in Chinese)

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Hubei Communications Department, P. R. China (Grant No. [2005]361). The authors would like to express their appreciation for its financial assistance.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg