STRUCTURAL RESPONSE OF FULL-SCALE CONCRETE BOX CULVERT

This paper is based on the results of a comprehensive field investigat ion of the behavior of a double-cell cast-in-place box culvert. The in vestigation was conducted by the University of Nebraska and was comple ted in November of 1990. The culvert was instrumented for soil pressur e, moment, and deflection measurements. Moment measurements were accom plished indirectly by measuring strains in outer and inner steel rebar s embedded in the concrete walls. Vibrating-wire strain gages were mou nted on the rebars in the laboratory prior to placement in the forms. All of the instruments were read periodically during the construction and backfilling processes. Live-load measurements were taken at 2 ft f ill increments over the top slab, starting with the exposed top slab. This paper describes the full-scale testing of the functional box culv ert and provides a detailed discussion of its measured structural resp onse to soil and truck loading.