Centrifuge Model Test and FEM Analysis of Dynamic Interactive Behavior between Embankments and Installed Culverts in Multiarch Culvert Embankments

Abstract

A multiarch culvert embankment is a new type of filling structure for which several precast arch culverts are installed continuously in the direction of the road extension. The key points in the design are to estimate the practical, optimal spacing between installed arch culverts and to clarify the interactive seismic behavior of the filling material and the culvert structure. In the current study, first, dynamic centrifuge model tests and a numerical analysis were carried out to clarify the basal earthquake behavior of the structure and verify the numerical approach. Then, the full-scale numerical analysis was performed to investigate the influence of spacing between multiarch culverts and the mechanical behavior under seismic conditions. From the results, it is confirmed that when the unit spacing is narrow, the whole rigidity of the ground and the arch culvert increases relatively. This is because the volume in the fill part, where the rigidity is small, decreases comparatively. Hence, the section force and the deformation are controlled.