Closure to “Design Loading on Deeply Buried Box Culverts” by Kyungsik Kim and Chai H. Yoo

Abstract

The authors note that while the discussers conducted their investigations with buried aluminum box culverts via use of the centrifuge modeling technique and noted that soil-structure interactions can actually be measured, they also need -- for design purposes -- to consider the distinction between shallow and deep cover conditions depending upon backfill heights. According to the authors, live loads from vehicles under shallow cover conditions are considered to be more significant than the load from soil. Live load effects under deep cover conditions, however, are not critical. The authors state that their research involved loading on a rigid box culvert under deep cover conditions. Regarding the discussers' use of buried flexible metal plated culverts, the authors state that it can be expected that the considerable deflections of the top/bottom slab and the sidewalls will affect the load exerted on the top slab depending on the relative stiffness of the structural components.