Experimental Study On Mechanical Performance Of Buried Arch-pipe Corrugated Steel Culverts

Buried corrugated steel culverts are increasingly used in road projects as alternative solutions to small bridges and culverts in our country. But most studies focus on round pipe and structures with open cross-sections, research works on mechanical performance of arch-pipe culverts have not been carried out basically. Buried arch-pipe corrugated steel culverts have hydraulic advantages and excellent abilities to adapt deformation, which is suitable for the areas with low foundation bearing capacity and a certain flow rate requirement. Therefore, research on this structure has guiding significance with constructions built on poor geological areas.This paper is based on a project of10×8.1m arch-pipe corrugated steel culvert. The mechanical performance of the arch-pipe is researched through field tests and finite element simulation methods. Displacement and soil pressure with the1st hole and the3rd hole are monitored during its construction. Fiber grating sensors are used to monitor the strain of the culvert. Through analyzing and comparing the measured values, some general mechanical regulations and differences between single culvert and porous continuous culverts are obtained.Two-dimensional finite element model (2D FEM) and three-dimensional finite element model (3D FEM) which could reflect the real waveform of the culvert are established. By comparing the calculated and measured values, research are proposed to analysis the displacement, soil pressure and the stress of the arch-pipe. The result shows that the trend of deformation for arch-pipe and round pipe is basically same. The pipes both move upwards first and then become deflection with the increasing of the backfill. The result also shows that the differences exist obviously on mechanical performance between porous continuous arch-pipe culverts and the single one. The main reason is due to its additional constraints from the both sides. Furthermore, the trend of stress in a wavelength is studied with the increasing of the backfill from the3D FEM. The result is consistent with general used standard "Toroidal pressure theory". By summarizing the mechanical properties of the arch-pipe, some design and construction references are provided for buried arch-pipe corrugated steel culverts.