Corrugated metal box-type culverts are increasingly used as replacements for short-span bridges. Their lightness, relatively easy and quick transportation and construction procedures, and lower cost make them attractive in many instances for short-span bridges. Because they are flexible, the flexural stiffness and moment capacity of the structural plates are increased with stiffeners placed along the length of the culvert. A corrugated box culvert carries most of itsload through interaction between the culvert and the surrounding backfill. Results of field tests performed on an aluminum low-profile, box culvert during the construction sequence and live load application are evaluated, experimental results are compared with results obtained from the cande finite element computer program solutions, stress disruption at bolts is evaluated, and the composite action between rib and plate is determined. This paper appears in transportationresearch record no. 1315, Culverts and pipelines: design, monitoring, evaluation, and repair 1991.
Abstract