Long‐Term Behavior of Buried Large‐Span Culverts
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 112, Issue 4
Abstract
A study is reported on the modeling of large‐span flexible corrugated culverts in the centrifuge environment with emphasis on simulating the construction sequence and long‐term viscous consolidation behavior in cohesive backfills. First, a fully instrumented prototype was selected, which reported both stresses and strains in the culvert and soil mass both during construction and for the long term. Second, a technique was developed in which placement of soil lifts followed by compaction was carried out in the centrifuge under increased acceleration. Third, correlation between prototype and model deflections, stresses and strains in the culvert wall and the surrounding soil mass was obtained at the end of construction for repetitive tests under various levels of acceleration. Finally, long‐term (four months) correlation of model versus prototype behavior: culvert stresses and soil stress‐strain is reported. It is concluded that centrifuge modeling is both an economical and viable means of studying short‐ and long‐term behavior of flexible large‐span culverts, if the construction sequence with the inclusion of the compaction process is undertaken.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
AASHTO, Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges, American Association of State Highway Officials, Washington, DC, 14th ed., 1978.
2.
AISI, Handbook of Steel Drainage and Highway Construction Products, American Iron and Steel Institute, New York, NY, 2nd ed., 1971.
3.
Allgood, J. R., “Structures in Soil Under High Loads,” Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering Division, ASCE, Vol. 97, No. SM3, Mar., 1971, pp. 565–589.
4.
Avgherinos, P. J., “Centrifugal Testing of Models Made of Soil,” thesis presented to Cambridge Univ., in 1969, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
5.
Avgherinos, P. J., and Schofield, A. N., “Drawdown Failure of Centrifugal Models,” Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 2, 1969.
6.
Bakht, B., “Soil‐Steel Structure Response to Live Loads,” Journal of the Geotechnical Division, ASCE, June, 1981, pp. 779–798.
7.
Bassett, R. H., “Centrifugal Model Tests of Embankments on Soft Alluvial Foundations,” Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. 2, Mexico City, 1969.
8.
Bloomquist, D., Davidson, J. L., and Townsend, F. C., “Platform Orientation and Start‐Up Time During Centrifuge Testing,” Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM, Vol. 7, No. 4, Dec., 1984, pp. 195–199.
9.
Brown, C. B., Green, D. R., and Parosey, S., “Flexible Culverts Under High Fills,” Journal of the Structural Division, ASCE, Vol. 94, No. ST4, Apr., 1968, pp. 905–917.
10.
Bucky, P. B., “Rise of Models for the Study of Mining Problems,” American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Tech. Pub. 425, 1932.
11.
Burns, J. Q., and Richard, R. M., “Attenuation of Stresses for Buried Cylinders,” Proceedings, Symposium on Soil Structure Interaction, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, Sept., 1964, pp. 378–392.
12.
Chang, C. S., Espinoza, J. M., and Selig, E. T., “Computer Analysis of Newtown Creek Culvert,” Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, ASCE, Vol. 106, No. GT5, May, 1980, pp. 531–556.
13.
Croce, P., “Evaluation of Consolidation Theories By Centrifuge Model Tests,” M.Sc. thesis, Univ. of Colorado, 1982.
14.
Davidson, J. L., and Bloomquist, D. G., “Centrifuge Modeling of the Consolidation/Sedimentation Process in Phosphatic Clays,” EIES Research Report 245 and W65, Department of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 1980.
15.
Duncan, J. M., “A Design Method for Metal Culverts Structures Based on Finite Element Analyses,” presented at Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, Jan., 1976.
16.
Duncan, J. M., “Behavior and Design of Long‐Span Metal Culverts,” Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, ASCE, Vol. 105, No. GT3, Mar., 1979, pp. 399–418.
17.
“Culvert Failure Kills Five,” Engineering News Record, Jan., 1983, p. 12.
18.
Hussein, J. B., and Selig, E. T., “Predicting Compactor Performance,” Proceedings, International Conference on Compaction, Paris, France, Apr., 1980.
19.
Katona, M. G., Forrest, J. B., Odello, R. J., and Allgood, J. R., “Computer Design and Analysis of Pipe Culverts,” Interim Technical Report No. 51‐040, Contract No. FHWA 3‐1‐1170, Civil Engineering Laboratory, Port Hueneme, CA, Oct., 1974.
20.
Katona, M. G., Smith, J. M., Odello, R. S., and Allgood, J. R., “CANDE‐Engineering Manual—A Modern Approach for Structural Design and Analysis of Buried Culverts,” Report No. FHWA‐RD‐77‐5, Federal Highway Administration, Oct., 1976.
21.
Larsen, H., “Earth Pressures Around Buried Pipes,” thesis presented to Cambridge Univ., England, in 1977, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
22.
Lafebvre, G., Laliberte, M., Lafebvre, L. M., Lafleur, J., and Fisher, C. L., “Measurement of Soil Arching Above a Large Diameter Flexible Culvert,” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 13, No. 1, Feb., 1976, pp. 58–71.
23.
Leonards, G. A., and Wu, T. H., “Predicting Performance of Buried Conduits,” Report No. 6‐36‐62F, Final Report to Indiana State Highway Commission and FHWA, Engineering and Experimental Station, Purdue Univ., W. Lafayette, IN, Mar., 1981.
24.
Lockhart, C. W., “Performance of a Large, Corrugated‐Metal, Buried Culvert in Bucks County, Pennsylvania,” Master of Science Degree Project Report, State Univ. of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, June, 1975.
25.
Mikasa, M., and Takada, N., “Significance of Centrifugal Model Tests in Soil Mechanics,” Proceedings of 8th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundations, Moscow, Vol. 1, 1973, pp. 273–278.
26.
McVay, M. C., “Evaluation of Numerical Modeling of Buried Conduits,” thesis presented to Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, in February 1982, in partial fullfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
27.
McVay, M. C., and Selig, E. T., “Performance and Analysis of a Long‐Span Culvert,” Transportation Research Record No. 878, Jan., 1982, pp. 23–29.
28.
Morris, D. V., “The Centrifugal Modelling of Dynamic Soil‐Structure Interaction and Earthquake Behavior,” thesis presented to Cambridge Univ., England, in June, 1979, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
29.
Ovesen, N. K., “Modelforsog med betonror i jor udfort i en centrifuge,” Engineering Academy of Denmark, Civil Engineering Department, 1971.
30.
Papadopoulos, P. C., “Centrifuge Modeling of Long Term Effects on Large Span Flexible Culverts,” Master of Engineering Degree, Department of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Florida, Aug., 1985.
31.
Pokrovsky, G. I., and Fyodorov, I. S., “Studies of Soil Pressures and Soil Deformations By Means of a Centrifuge,” Proceedings, 1st International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Harvard Univ., Vol. 1, No. 70, 1936.
32.
Pokrovsky, G. I., and Fyodorov, I. S., “Centrifugal Model Testing in the Construction Industry,” Stroiizdat, Moscow, 1968, Draft translation by Building Research Establishment, Aug., 1975.
33.
Scott, R. F., and Morgan, N. R., “Feasibility and Desirability of Constructing a Very Large Centrifuge for Geotechnical Studies,” Report 760‐170, California Institute of Technology for NSF, 1977.
34.
Selig, E. T., “Instrumentation of Large Buried Culverts,” Performance Monitoring for Geotechnical Construction, ASTM STP 584, American Society for Testing and Materials, 1975, pp. 159–181.
35.
Selig, E. T., Abel, J. F., Kulhawy, F. H., and Falby, W. E., “Review of the Design and Construction of Long‐Span Corrugated‐Metal Buried Conduits,” Report No. FHWA/RD‐77‐131, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC, Aug., 1977.
36.
Selig, E. T., Lochart, C. W., and Lautensleyer, R. W., “Measured Performance of Newtown Creek Culvert,” Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division, ASCE, No. GT9, Sept., 1979, pp. 1067–1087.
37.
Selig, E. T., and McVay, M. C., “Performance of a Maxispan Culvert in Bucks County, Pennsylvania,” Report No. RSC80‐248R, Final Report to Republic Steel Corporation, Department of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, Sept., 1980.
38.
Selig, E. T., “Large Buried Metal Culvert Design and Construction,” Proceedings, 11th Ohio River Valley Soil Seminar on Earth Pressures and Retaining Structures, Clarksville, IN, Oct., 1980.
39.
Spangler, M. G., “The Structural Design of Flexible Pipe Culverts,” Bulletin No. 153, Engineering Experimental Station, Iowa State College, 1941.
40.
Spannagel, D. W., Davis, R. E., and Backer, A. E., “Effects of Method A and B Backfill on Flexible Culverts Under High Fills,” Transportation Research Record No. 510, 1974.
41.
TRB A2K04—Minutes of Committee on Soil‐Structure Interaction on Subsurface Conduits, Jan., 1982.
42.
TRB A2K04—Research Problem Statement No. 114, Transportation Research Circular, Number 272, Feb., 1984, ISSN 0097‐8515.
43.
Trott, J. J., Taylor, R. N., Symons, I. F., “Tests to Validate Centrifuge Modeling of Flexible Pipe,” Application of Centrifuge Modelling to Geotechnical Design, Univ. of Manchester, Civil Engineering Department, 1984, pp. 226–254.
44.
USDOT, Corrugated Metal—Structural Design Criteria and Recommended Installation Practice, US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Bureau of Public Roads, Washington, DC, 1970.
45.
White, H. L., and Layer, J. P., “The Corrugated Metal Conduit as a Compression Ring,” Proceedings, Highway Research Board, Vol. 39, 1960, pp. 389–397.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 112 • Issue 4 • April 1986
Pages: 424 - 442
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 ASCE.
History
Published online: Apr 1, 1986
Published in print: Apr 1986
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.