The considerable influence of the soil backfill properties and that of the method of compacting it on the stiffness of soilsteel structures is characteristic of the latter. The above factors (exhibiting randomness) become apparent in shell deformation measurements conducted during construction and proof test loading. A definition of soil-shell structure stiffness, calculated on the basis of shell deflection under the service load, is proposed in the paper. It is demonstrated that the stiffness is the inverse of the deflection influence function used in structural mechanics. The moving load methodology is shown to be useful for testing, since it makes it possible to map the shell deflection influence line also in the case of group loads (concentrated forces), as in bridges. The analyzed cases show that the shell's span, geometry (static scheme) and the height of earth fill influence the stiffness of the structure. The soilsteel structure's characteristic parameter in the form of stiffness k is more suitable for assessing the quality of construction works than the proposed in code geometric index ω applied to beam structures. As shown in the given examples, parameter k is more effective than stiffness parameter λ used to estimate the deformation of soil-steel structures under construction. Although the examples concern railway structures, the methodology proposed in the paper is suitable also for road bridges.

This paper analyses the effects of loads that change their location, i.e. moving but quasi-static loads. Displacements defining the deformation of the soil–steel structure’s shell buried in soil are calculated from the results of measurements performed using a dense grid of points located on the circumferential section of the corrugated plate. In this way, all the components of the structure, namely the corrugated plate, the backfill and the pavement with its foundation, as well as the natural (real) principles of their interaction, are taken into account in the solution. In the proposed algorithm, unit strains are converted into displacements, whereby results as accurate as the ones obtained by direct experimental measurements are obtained. The algorithm’s main advantages are that the number of points is limitless, they are regularly distributed on the circumferential section of the shell and any displacement directions can be obtained. Consequently, the deformations of the shell can be faithfully reproduced. The algorithm’s convenient feature is that one can use a simplified computational diagram of the shell in the form of a beam having the shape of the shell in 2D space (without the other components of the soil–steel structure). The advantage of this measuring method (electric resistance tensometry) is that there is no need to build the solid scaffold used for displacement measurements. The research focuses on the analysis of the displacements and the unit strains arising during the primary and secondary (return) travel of the load.

This paper presents an analysis of the possibilities for the application of a two-dimensional model based on a circumferential strip of soil-steel structures that used results of measurements on railway soil-steel bridges. View itemEnvironment December 2017 CO2 emissions and expansion of railway, road, airline and in-land waterway networks over the 1985-2013 period in China: a time series analysis Li, X, Fan, Y, Wu, L With the expectation that transportation will contribute 30-40% of the total CO2 emissions in China in the near future, there is an imminent need to identify how the development of different transportation modes may have different long-term effects on CO2 emissions. Using time series data over the period of 1985-2013, this paper applies the combined autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and vector error correction model (VECM) approach to identify short-and long-run causal relationships between CO2 emissions and modespecific transportation development, including railway, road, airline, and inland waterway.

Buried corrugated structures are subjected to highest stresses during two phases: during backfilling and under service loads. Commonly, deformations during backfilling are more unfavorable for the structure than those that occur under service loads. Typically, service loads will generate several times less deflection than do construction loads falling below the limit of deflection ( w) to span ( L) of w/L = 2%. For the sake of modeling the behavior of corrugated steel structures during backfilling, separate components (i.e., corrugated steel, backfill, road structure) of the soil structure are represented by independent parameters such as deformation module, Poisson's coefficient, and soil unit weight. A steel plate is described in geometric terms. Modeling the deformation of buried corrugated structures with finite element modeling is very difficult because of the complex characteristics of the soil medium during construction of the backfill. An analytical algorithm was used to calculate characteristic deformations of a steel structure during backfilling. The algorithm was analyzed with respect to chosen physical and geometric parameters. Deformations during backfilling of a corrugated structure are described, and correlations of specific points of a structure are presented in a mathematical form on the basis of in situ tests in natural scale. The algorithm was prepared assuming the average backfill quality required by good construction and design practices. The results of this research are applicable to structures with closed and open shapes, except for boxes.