STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF PIPE CULVERTS
GENERALLY ACCEPTED METHODS FOR THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF PIPE CULVERTS REQUIRE DETERMINATION OF THE MAGNITUDE AND DISTRIBUTION OF LOADING AND SELECTION OF A READILY AVAILABLE RIGID OR FLEXIBLE CULVERT COMPATIBLE WITH THE LOADING. ALTHOUGH THE MARSTON-SPANGLER CONCEPTS AND RING COMPRESSION THEORIES ARE CURRENTLY BEING USED AS A BASIS FOR DETERMINING THE LOADS, A GREAT DEAL OF ENGINEERING JUDGMENT IS INVOLVED IN APPLYING THESE LOAD DETERMINATION PROCEDURES, PARTICULARLY IN THE CASE OF RIGID CULVERTS. BASED ON THE REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF ALL AVAILABLE INFORMATION, PRESENT-DAY CULVERT DESIGN PRACTICE HAS WITHSTOOD THE CRITICAL TEST OF TIME AND CANNOT BE READILY DISCOUNTED. DESPITE THE NATURE OF SUCCESS REALIZED BY USE OF THESE PRACTICES, THEY ARE EMPIRICAL IN NATURE, DEPEND ON EXPERIENCE AND THE EXERCISE OF ENGINEERING JUDGMENT, AND SEVERAL OF THE ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING THEIR FORMULATION ARE SUBJECT TO QUESTION. NO RELIABLE MEANS EXIST FOR ACCURATELY PREDICTING THE PERFORMANCE OF A CULVERT IN A GIVEN ENVIRONMENT. THE FOLLOWING CONSIDERATIONS FOR DURABILITY APPEAR COMPATIBLE WITH THE PRESENT STATE-KNOWLEDGE: (1) WHERE THE PEAK FLOW VELOCITY IS EXCESSIVE AND THE WATER CONTAINS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SEDIMENT, ALLOWANCE SHOULD BE MADE FOR ABRASIONS, (2) WHERE THE NORMAL WATER PH IS LESS THAN 4.5, CONCRETE CULVERTS SHOULD GENERALLY BE USED, (3) WHERE THE WATER PH EXCEEDS 4.5, IT MAY BE DESIRABLE TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL METAL THICKNESS TO ALLOW FOR CORROSION, (4) ALTHOUGH LONG-TERM RESULTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE, SHORT-TERM RESULTS INDICATE THAT ALUMINUM CULVERTS ARE SUITABLE WITH-IN THE PH RANGE OF 4.5 TO 9, AND (5) WHEN CONCRETE CULVERTS ARE TO BE EXPOSED TO CHLORIDES AND SULFATES, SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS SHOULD BE OBSERVED DURING PIPE PRODUCTION, SUCH AS THE USE OF AIR-ENTRAINED CONCRETE AND SULFATE-RESISTANT CEMENT, RESPECTIVELY.
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Supplemental Notes:
- Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
- Publication Date: 1970-5
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Pagination: 4 p.
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Serial:
- NCHRP Research Results Digest
- Issue Number: 17
- Publisher: Transportation Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Air entrained concrete; Aluminum; Concrete; Conduits; Corrosion protection; Durability; Flexible structures; Flow; Load transfer; pH value; Pipe culverts; Stiffness; Streamflow; Structural design; Sulfate resisting cement; Water
- Old TRIS Terms: Flexible conduits; Rigid conduits
- Subject Areas: Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00204307
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Oct 13 1970 12:00AM