A comprehensive investigation of soil-metal structure interaction for long span deep-corrugated reinforced steel box culverts was carried out in a project sponsored by the National Research Council of Canada. Two, 12 m span, box culverts were erected at a Dorchester N.B. test site using two densities of backfill, one thickness of structural steel plate and a minimum cover of 300 mm. These structures are the largest steel box culverts which have been erected to date. One structure was reinforced using continuous deep-corrugated crown stiffeners while the other structure was intermittently reinforced using composite concrete metal encased stiffeners. The 1996 box culvert test provided a definitive relationship between soil stiffness and metal structure stiffness. The test was the first occasion that intermittently reinforced composite concrete metal encased stiffeners had been evaluated relative to conventional continuous reinforcement. The composite innovation provides an economical solution for the construction of long span deep-corrugated reinforced steel box culverts and for traditional circular ellipse, arch, and pipe-arch shapes. (A)
Abstract