Measured Field Performance and Computer Analysis of Large-Diameter Multiplate Steel Pipe Culvert Installed in Ohio

Between 2001 and 2002, a $6.4\text{-}\mathrm{m}$ $\left(21.0\text{-}\mathrm{ft}\right)$ diameter corrugated steel pipe culvert was erected and buried under a $22.9\text{-}\mathrm{m}$ $\left(75.0\text{-}\mathrm{ft}\right)$ highway embankment fill in Meigs County, Ohio. This steel pipe culvert was the first of its kind to be constructed in the southeastern region of Ohio. The culvert structure was selected by the Ohio Department of Transportation over an alternative of a 5 million conventional bridge structure, because it would cost about $3.4 million less. The field performance of the culvert was monitored by measuring the pressure distribution around the pipe, as well as the deflections of the pipe culvert during and after construction. The culvert study also included comparing measured field performance with numerical predictions given by the finite-element computer program CANDE-89. CANDE-89 with the slotted joint option had a limited ability to simulate the actual field behavior of the large-diameter multiplate culvert structure, especially in the earlier stages of construction.