Failure Characteristics of a Structural Plate Pipe Arch Culvert

摘要

An existing 37 year old, 15.67 ft. span, 9.58 ft. rise structural plate pipe archculvert installed in cohesive backfill material was instrumented with biaxial electric strain gages and position transducers and loaded with two hydraulic cylinders, simulating live load from the rear axle of a vehicle. The loads were positioned above the crown point of the pipe and increased in increments until moderate degree of structural failure was observed. During each increment of load application, biaxial strains, deflections of the upper arc, and structural settlement were recorded. These field data were utilized to determine biaxial stresses, thrusts, bending moments, and geometrical change of the pipe.