Structural Analysis and Design of Pipe Culverts

Book excerpt: 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 (concrete) or flexible (corrugated metal) culvert compatible with the loading. Although the Marston-Spangler and the more recently developed ring compression theories are currently being used extensively as a basis for designing buried conduits, a great deal of engineering judgment is involved in applying these load determination procedures, particularly in the case of rigid culverts. In addition, durability and handling problems, which are frequently critical in the case of flexible culverts, require the exercise of considerable engineering judgment. One of the major uncertainties faced by the present-day designer is associated with the appropriate consideration of construction practices. This problem, together with the difficulty of specifying a generally acceptable failure criterion, makes the selection of a suitable safety factor extremely complicated.