THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE PIPE CULVERTS

Abstract

THE STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE OF FLEXIBLE PIPE CULVERTS WAS STUDIED WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF DEVELOPING A RATIONAL THEORY OF DESIGN. LABORATORY TEST RESULTS JUSTIFIED THAT EVEN THOUGH THE DEFLECTIONS AND ACCOMPANYING CHANGES IN RADIUS OF CURVATURE WERE RELATIVELY LARGE, THE ELASTIC THEORY WA APPLICABLE TO CORRUGATED METAL PIPES UNDER TWO POINT LOADING WITHIN A TOLERANCE PROBABLY NO GREATER THAN THAT OCCASIONED BY VARIATIONS IN THE MODULUS OF ELASTICITY OF THE METAL, VARIATIONS IN GAGE THICKNESS, DEPTH AND SPACING OF CORRUGATIONS, AND OTHER VARIABLES INHERENT I IN THE MANUFACUTE OF THIS TYPE OF CONDUIT. IT WAS ASSUMED THAT THE THEORY WOULD APPLY FOR A CORRUGATED CULVERT PIPE INSTALLED UNDER AN EMBANKMENT. THE HYPOTHESIS OF THE FILL LOADS WAS SUMMARIZED. A DESIGN FORMULA FOR THE HORIZONTAL DEFLECTION OF FLEXIBLE CULVERT PIPE WAS GIVEN AND ITS APPLICABILITY TESTED IN FIELD STUDIES.