Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Box Culverts under High Embankments
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 4
Abstract
In this paper a numerical and an experimental study on reinforced concrete box culverts (BC) behavior is presented. A BC under a high embankment was instrumented and observed during the construction period. Numerical analyses were then performed using a finite-element code capable of considering the construction sequence, the nonlinear behavior of the reinforced concrete structure, and an elastic-plastic behavior for the soil and the interfaces. Once the computed results were in good agreement with the observed behavior, a parametric study was developed for the identification of the main parameters influencing the interaction mechanism and to evaluate the BC structural performance up to failure. The influence of the BC nonlinear behavior on the interaction mechanism, both in service and ultimate limit state conditions, was analyzed and discussed. It is concluded that the soil pressures and the BC nonlinear behavior are directly related and should be reflected in the design stage in order to achieve a more rational and economical design.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
AASHTO. (2002). AASHTO standard specifications for highway bridges, Washington, D.C.
Bennett, R., Wood, S., Drumm, E., and Rainwater, N. (2005). “Vertical loads on concrete box culverts under high embankments.” J. Bridge Eng., 10(6), 643–649.
Chen, W. F. (1982). Plasticity in reinforced concrete, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Comité Euro-International dee Béton (CEB). (1993). CEB-FIP model code 1990, Thomas Telford, London.
Dasgupta, A., and Sengupta, B. (1991). “Large scale model test on square box culvert backfilled with sand.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 117(1), 156–161.
European Committee for Standardization (CEN). (2004). “Design of concrete structures-Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings.” Eurocode 2, Brussels, Belgium.
Feenstra, P. H. (1993). “Computational aspects of biaxial stress in plain and reinforced concrete.” Ph.D. thesis, Delft Univ. of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
Félix, C. (2001). “Monitoring of concrete structures.” Dissertation, ISEP, Porto, Portugal (in Portuguese).
Figueiras, J. A. (1983). “Ultimate load analysis of anisotropic and reinforced concrete plates and shells.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. College of Swansea, Swansea, Wales, U.K.
Jaky, J. (1944). “The coefficient of earth pressure at rest. In Hungarian (A nyugalmi nyomas tenyezoje).” J. Soc. of Hung. Archit. Eng. (Magyar Mernok es Epitesz-Egylet Kozlonye), 7, 355–358.
Kang, J., Parker, F., Kang, Y. J., and Yoo, C. (2008). “Effects of frictional forces acting on sidewalls of buried box culverts.” Int. J. Numer. Analyt. Meth. Geomech., 32, 289–306.
Katona, M., and Vittes, P. (1982). “Soil-structure analysis and evaluation of buried box culvert designs.” Transportation Research Record. 878, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 1–7.
Kim, K., and Yoo, C. (2005). “Design loading on deeply buried box culverts.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 131(1), 20–27.
Kulhawy, F. H. (1977). “Embankments and escavations.” Numerical methods in geotechnical engineering, C. Desai and J. Christian, eds., McGraw-Hill, New York.
Markeset, G., and Hillerborg, A. (1995). “Softening of concrete in compression—Localization and size effects.” Cem. Concr. Res., 25(4), 702–708.
Marston, A. (1930). “The theory of external loads on closed conduits in the light of the latest experiments.” Bulletin 96, Iowa Engineering Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa.
Marston, A., and Anderson, A. O. (1913). “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.
Pimentel, M. (2004). “Modeling and analysis of concrete laminar structures: Challenges and possibilities.” MSc thesis, Faculty of Engineering of the Univ. of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Plumey, S. (2007). “Interaction sol-structure dans le domaine des tranchées couvertes.” Doctoral thesis, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Sprangler, M. G. (1950). “Field measurements of the settlement ratios of various highway culverts.” Bulletin 170, Iowa Engineering Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa.
Sprangler, M. G. (1968). “Discussion to ‘The modification of the pressures on rigid culverts with fill procedures.” Highw. Res. Rec., 249, 41–43.
Tadros, M., Benak, J., and Gililand, M. (1989). “Soil pressure on box culverts.” ACI Struct. J., 86(4), 439–450.
Vermeer, P. A., et al. (1993). Plaxis: Finite element code for rock and soil plasticity, Version 5, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Witasse, R., and Witte, F. C. (2005). DIANA user’s manual—Geotechnical analysis, TNO DIANA, BV, Delft, The Netherlands.
Witte, F. C. (2005). DIANA user’s manual, Release 9, TNO DIANA, BV, Delft, The Netherlands.
Witte, F. C., and Kikstra, W. P. (2005). DIANA user’s manual, Material Library, TNO DIANA, BV, Delft, The Netherlands.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 4 • April 2009
Pages: 366 - 375
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 30, 2007
Accepted: Nov 25, 2008
Published online: Apr 1, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2009
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Dat Duthinh
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.