Performance of Corrugated Steel Culverts Buried in Shallow Cover Depth and Subjected to Environmental Deteriorations

Abstract

Corrugated steel culverts (CSC) are key components of infrastructure to support water management and foundation integrity. Some installed culverts in North America are buried at shallow cover depths based on the engineering practices and exposed to deterioration effects, such as corrosion and soil erosion, during their service life.The primary goal of this research is to investigate the CSC (e.g., force, moment, deflection, strain) at shallow cover depths subject to surface loads. The secondary goal of this research is to study effect of corrosion and soil erosion on the CSC mechanical response. The mechanical response and load transfer mechanisms are investigated using analytical models and finite element method (FEM).