Finite-Element Modeling and Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Box Culverts

Abstract

There have been several controversies with regard to the true behavior of reinforced concrete box culverts in recent years. To be able to conduct a parametric study to develop design equations, a complete three-dimensional verified finite-element model of culverts is essential. This study presents the development of an analytical program to investigate the shear capacity of precast reinforced concrete box culverts. To simulate the experimental results, complete and detailed three-dimensional finite-element models (FEMs) of the test specimens were developed and analyzed. Three-dimensional shell and solid elements were used to model the culvert systems. The welded wire fabrics were modeled by using the rebar elements placed on the surface elements provided by the ABAQUS software. The contact surface between the outside face of the bottom slab and reaction floor was modeled by using a nonlinear node-to-surface contact analysis procedure. The analysis procedure consisted of an incremental loading history to capture the problem of nonlinearity. The load was placed at a distance