Soil-Structure Interaction Analysis of Longitudinal Uplift of Culverts

Abstract

In response to problems of corrugated metal pipe (CMP) culvert uplift failure caused by unbalanced inlet hydraulic loading, full-scale field testing and numerical analysis were carried out to develop a rational design methodology for CMP inlet tie-downs. This paper describes a series of uplift tests carried out on a 2.44 m diameter CMP under different backfill configurations and a two-dimensional approach to the analysis of the three-dimensional problem. This two-dimensional approach uses a longitudinal finite element bending analysis with equivalent soil resistance springs generated from plane strain analyses of transverse sections along the CMP length. Comparisons of the test results with the model indicate that the backfill plays a significant role in the uplift restraint process and that the three-dimensional problem may be effectively modeled by linking two-dimensional models. The analyses indicate that the backfill cohesion and stiffness have the greatest effect on the uplift resistance and that the resistance was less sensitive to the soil friction angle and the properties of the soil/CMP interface.