Professional Documents
Culture Documents
عبدالكريم ازاد
عبدالكريم ازاد
عبدالكريم ازاد
BY
1|Page
2.13.0. BRAKING FORCE…………………………………………………………………..22
2.14.0. IMPACT OF LIVE LOAD…………………………………………………………..23
2.15.0. CLEANING AND MAINTAINANCE………………………………………………24
2.16.0. MULTI-CELL CULVERT…………………………………………………………..27
2.16.1. EFFECTIVE USES AND LIMITATIONS……………………………………27
2.16.2. MATERIAL SPECIFICATONS………………………………………………27
2.16.3. INSTALLATION GUIDELINES……………………………………………..27
3.0.0. METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………………….29
3.1.0. LOAD CASES FOR DESIGN………………………………………………………...30
3.2.0. LOADING…………………………………………………………………………..…30
3.3.0. LOADING CALCULATIONS………………………………………………………..30
3.4.0. MOMENT CALCULATION………………………………………………………….31
3.5.0. BENDING MOMENT ANALYSIS AND DIAGRAM………………………………31
3.6.0. REINFORCEMENT AND DETAILING……………………………………………..31
2|Page
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1………………………………………………....STREAM CROSSING CULVERT
FIGURE 2……………………………………….……DIFFERENT SHAPES OF CULVERT
FIGURE 3……….A BOTTOM LESS ARCH CULVERT THAT ALLOWS FOR FISH
PASSAGE
FIGURE 4…………….DIAGRAM SHOWING VARIOUS INLET CONTROL METHODS
FIGURE 5……………DIAGRAM SHOWING VARIOUS OUTLET CONTROL METHOD
3|Page
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Current in-stream design projects are moving away from the use of hard structures, such as
gabions, bank revetment, and culverts, and are increasingly employing a more natural,
biotechnical engineering approach. While stream restoration and bank stabilization efforts
may be prohibitive in terms of cost in the short run, ample evidence suggests that “natural
stream channel stability is achieved by allowing the river to develop a stable dimension,
pattern, and profile such that, over time, channel features are maintained and the stream
guidelines have recently been developed by several agencies, combining modern hydraulic
criteria and economical construction and maintenance costs, with consideration of natural
Culverts have the potential to destabilize streams if capacity and stream morphology are not
considered jointly, resulting in increased sediment supply and erosion, flooding, habitat loss,
and property damage. By artificially narrowing a channel, structures and hardscape methods
often have the unintended consequences of creating erosional eddies up and downstream of
structures, or creating a down-cutting response in order to make up for the lost cross-sectional
area (California Regional Water Quality Control Board, 2003). However, design alternatives
and construction guidelines exist that increase the effective transport of varying flow events
through culverts and under bridges, for use in situations where creating or modifying in-
The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) has created new design procedures
that limit the impacts of constructing culverts and bridges in streams (Kosicki, Davis 2000).
These guidelines have shifted from traditionally focusing solely on the relationship between
4|Page
the stream and the highway structure for major flood events, to adopting a design process that
maintains “the consistency of dimension, pattern, and profile of the stream with particular
attention given to maintaining bankfull width and width/depth ratio”(Kosicki, Davis 2000).
This agency has also experienced successful results in using additional floodplain culverts in
order to “relieve the hydraulic load on the main channel culvert so as to limit downstream
scour and erosion” (Kosicki, Davis 2000). By emphasizing stream geomorphology in their
structural design process, the SHA predicts a reduction in future maintenance problems and
flood hazards.
However, the use of large bores or multiple culverts is not a solution in itself; without
applying a geomorphic approach, oversized culverts or auxiliary cells can become sediment
traps that clog one or more culvert barrels. If the stream passage is larger than the bankfull
width, a stream will ultimately change to reestablish bankfull flow conditions (Kosicki 2003).
well as conventional hydraulic design tools such as HY-8 and HECRAS, has facilitated the
SHA’s permit approval process while creatively addressing common problems such as scour,
degradation, head-cutting, and lateral movement (Kosicki 2003, Similarly, the Maryland
Guidelines, 2000). These efforts are also in response to a growing need for the stabilization,
Rosgen Stream Classification, as well as an understanding of the root causes of the channel
instability. In some situations, various culvert designs are suggested which can facilitate the
flow of flood waters across a floodplain, and promote the conditions for improved fish
passage.
5|Page
Maryland’s Department of Permitting Services, and Department of Public Works and
sensitive guidelines for the design of culverts. These collaborative guidelines were
developed in an effort to overcome some of the severe problems that have been associated
2. Physical blockages of water flows and impediments to the passage of fish and other
aquatic life.
After developing design goals that address the above problems, these agencies generated
recommendations and considerations for various stream structure options which, regardless
of structure type, will convey the flows generated by the 100-year storm event, maintain the
channel’s existing water depth and velocity for the normal flow channel, and provide for the
unobstructed flow of the bankfull storm event without increasing or decreasing velocity by
When a roadway is constructed across a natural stream, a major problem is detected, during
periods of high rainfall, the water level tends to rise and overflow the roadway causing a lot of
damage to both the roadway and the natural life that habits the stream or water body. Now the
practical solution to this problem is too provide a way for the water from the stream flowing
under the road to pass safely under the road without spilling onto and flooding the road and also
to cater for increases in the water level during periods of extended rainfall. This type of structure
6|Page
culvert. The purpose of this project is to design and analyse a reinforced box culvert. A
culvert is a covered channel of relatively short length designed to pass water through an
embankment (e.g. highway, railroad, and dam). The design requires a hydrological study of
the upstream catchment to estimate the maximum (design) discharge and the risks of
exceptional (emergency) floods. The sizes of the culvert are based on hydraulic, structural
and geotechnical considerations. Indeed, the culvert height and width affect the size and cost
of the embankment. The culvert impact on the environment must also be taken into account,
e.g. flooding of the upstream plain. The design process is a system approach. The system
must be identified, as well as the design objectives and constraints. A detailed analysis of it
must be conducted and questions should be asked at the end if the final design meets the
objectives. The culvert design begins with the report from a survey and hydraulic design
reports, this report is used in conjunction with existing roadway plan to then accurately
specify the culvert length, design fill and other items relating to the completed culvert plan.
This project is limited to the structural design and analysis of a reinforced box culvert, no
attempt will be made to discuss the hydrological aspect of the design, but hydrological
1.3 AIM:
The aim of this project is to analyse and design a reinforced box culvert according to AASHTO
LRFD Bridge Design Specifications, and in accordance with the British Standard (B.S) code.
7|Page
1.4 OBJECTIVES
Determine the total load acting on the various parts of the culvert
Analyse the culvert and come up with bending moment and shear force diagram.
1.5 JUSTIFICATION:
Failure of culverts occur for various reasons, this includes maintenance, environmental and
installation related failures. But the major type of failure related to culverts are road collapses, if
the failure is sudden and catastrophic it can lead to loss of life. The dominant reason for collapse
of culverts is poor or inadequate design and analysis of the culvert. The purpose of this project
cannot be over emphasised as accidents due to failure of culverts can be lead to loss of life and
properties. In the hydrological analysis of culverts taking into account factors like head flow,
discharge, etc. are highly important in the effectual design of a culvert as any error in the
hydrological design can cause damage to the environment, Undersized culverts can cause
problems for oceanic life and also affect the quality of water available in that area via erosion.
Poorly designed culverts tend to become packed with sand and other unwanted rubble during
periods of medium to high rainfall which can lead to flooding of the road way above the culvert.
Therefore it is crucial for a culvert to be sufficiently designed both structurally and hydrologic
8|Page
2.0.0 LITERATURE REVIEW:
CULVERT: According to Wikipedia a culvert is a structure that allows water to flow under a
road, railroad, trail, or similar obstruction from one side to the other side. Typically
APRON SLAB: It is a smooth (generally concrete surface) that is placed between the
FLAP GATE: It is a passive "trap door" device placed on culvert outlets to prevent inflow.
HEADWALL: It is a wall built at top and sides of a culvert end to secure adjacent soil.
DEPTH OF COVER: This the depth of earth fill that is to be placed above a culvert.
SURCHARGE: a condition in which the water elevation at the upstream end of a culvert
OBVERT: It is interior top of a culvert, equal to the invert plus the culvert diameter.
hydraulic transition from open channel to culvert flow and increases maximum capacity.
absorption structure at the end of a culvert. (The pacific stream keeper’s federation, Al
jonsson 2001)
PIPING: This refers to water flowing along the outside of a culvert. This can lead to
erosion and failure. (The pacific stream keeper’s federation, Al jonsson 2001)
SLOPE: It is the measurement of the change in elevation with distance. (The pacific
TRASH RACK: It is a metal grate placed at the upstream end of a culvert to prevent woody
debris, rocks etc. from entering the culvert. . (The pacific stream keeper’s federation, Al
jonsson 2001)
BEDDING: It refers to the fine gravel or crushed rock placed around culverts to
evenly distribute load. (The pacific stream keeper’s federation, Al jonsson 2001)
CRITICAL DEPTH: Critical depth can best be illustrated as the depth of water at the
culvert outlet under outlet control at which water flows are not influenced by backwater
forces. Critical depth is the depth at which specific energy of a given flow rate is at a
minimum. For a given discharge and cross-section geometry, there is only one critical depth.
10 | P a g e
2.2.0 CULVERT DESIGN ITEMS
According to the Iowa storm water management manual, the following should be
a. flood frequency
b. velocity limitations
c. buoyancy protection
a. headwater limitations
b. tailwater conditions
c. storage – temporary or permanent
a. culvert inlets
b. inlets with headwalls
c. wingwalls and aprons
d. improved inlets
e. material selection
f. culvert skews
g. culvert sizes and shapes
h. twin pipe separations (vertical and horizontal)
11 | P a g e
i. culvert clearances
a. weep holes
b. outlet protection
c. erosion and sediment control
d. environmental considerations
The designer must incorporate experience and judgment to determine which of the above
items listed need to be evaluated and how to design the final culvert installation.
Culverts can be classified based on a variety of criteria’s e.g. shape, function, etc.
culvert that is provided when a roadway crosses a stream, it is built to allow water to pass
to the downstream. For this type of culvert it is important to align the culvert with the
natural river or stream, it is also necessary for the cross sectional area of the culvert to be
the same size as the width of the stream and the centre of the stream to be aligned with
the centre of the culvert so as to reduce interference with the natural marine life, stream
crossing culverts are built so as to blend in with the existing stream or river.
12 | P a g e
Figure 1: Stream crossing culvert
manage and route roadway runoff along, under, and away from the roadway. They are
barrel is in the shape of a rectangle or a box, it is the most common type of culvert, it can
be precast or cast-in-situ.
Circular culverts are mostly made of steel, and it is mostly used in swampy areas.
ARCH CULVERT: Just as the name implies, arch culverts are culverts with the barrel
shape of an arch, they could be of two types (1) Full arch culverts; which have a bottom
and hence when placed on a river, do not allow the passage of natural marine life (2) arch
culverts without bottom, they only consist of the top arch and so they allow the flow of
13 | P a g e
SPRUNG ARCH CULVERT: It is simply the combination of an arch culvert and a box
NOTE: The shape of a culvert may differ from one place to another, as the culvert type and
shape is based on a number of design factors e.g. road embankment height, requirements for
elevation. (Wikipedia.com)
A bridge and a culvert can be hard to differentiate from each other by just looking at it, but in
terms of engineering there are clear cut differences between them. So in order to properly
First of all, a bridge is a structure built across a physical obstruction like a river,
mountain etc. usually for the transportation of humans and goods, while a culvert is
simply a passage built to allow the flow of water through a barrier or obstruction.
A bridge basically uses a system of columns (piers) and beams to transfer load from the
main deck of the bridge to the foundation and down to the earth while a culvert does not
14 | P a g e
make use of any beam whatsoever, it consists of a top slab, a bottom slab and side
If the size (height) of the structure in question is greater than 20ft (>20ft) the structure is
Most bridges do not have a floor i.e. they are not joined at the foot of the piers,
Harvesting or other agriculture based tasks can do a lot of damage to stream habitat and
affect the water quality. Workers who need to move vehicles and equipment across streams
must consider how they can do so and still protect the natural stream and aquatic life. For this
Culverts as hydraulic structures have a number of advantages which are outlined below
Prevent Erosion
Prevent flooding
Another major advantage/reason why a culvert should be used is the ease of construction
and installation, culverts could either be cast-in-situ or precast, but for economic reasons, a
precast culvert is advised. Culverts are also very portable and are usually readily available
15 | P a g e
2.6.0 ENVIROMENTAL IMPACTS OF CULVERTS
Culverts whether stream crossing or runoff are generally designed to blend in with the natural
slope and shape of the land, but when the site is not put into consideration in design, it can
directly affect the marine/aquatic life in the river or stream. This chapter is dedicated to
A culvert may break the continuity of water in a stream if its outflow is lifted above
The water velocity in a culvert may be higher than in the natural stream because the
culvert is straight and constricts the stream into a narrower channel. Also, if the culvert
contains little or no substrate (e.g. gravel, rocks, or cobbles), then the smoother bottom
A culvert may break the continuity of the stream’s substrate. It may have less, if any,
substrate along its stream bottom and, presumably, the ground underneath the culvert
Culverts channelize the stream and do not allow it to migrate laterally across its
Culverts serve as an entry point of pollutants (e.g., salt, silt, or soot) that accumulate
Culverts may change the temperature of the stream water. If the area around the culvert and
road receives more energy from the sun because the tree canopy was removed, water
temperatures may be elevated. However, if the stream is slow relative to the length of the
culvert (i.e., if the stream in the culvert is very shallow, slow-moving, and has to travel
16 | P a g e
Over a long distance), then the water may be cooled.
Culvert shape: A different culvert shape (e.g., ellipse, culvert arch, or box culvert)
Invert level: The invert level at an inlet or outlet is very important for managing flow
effects at contractions (inlets), expansions (outlets), and flow regime in a culvert barrel.
Invert levels affect habitat upstream and downstream of culverts. Lowering the invert
may be necessary to allow the placement of natural substrate on the culvert bottom.
Care should be taken to ensure a stable channel upstream and downstream of the culvert
17 | P a g e
because erosion due to increased flow velocities can progress in both directions and
acceptable levels. For example, corrugated circular culverts can be chosen with large,
helical corrugations to provide greater overall roughness and provide for a larger low
flow water depth suitable for fish. Concrete box culverts can be modified by using
oversized aggregate or grouted riprap. The addition of energy dissipaters can control
mitigate many adverse conditions in the culvert barrel and at the inlet or outlet. Weirs or
sills downstream of a culvert can be used to maintain adequate water depth and prevent
scouring of a plunge pool. An upstream resting pool can trap sediment while allowing
recuperation time for 710 migrants. Combined with proper in stream cover, culverts
18 | P a g e
2.7.0 PERFORMANCE CURVE
A performance curve is used to determine the effects of a high flow rate on the culvert at the
site and any other problems that may arise. A performance curve should be drawn for a
culvert to access various head waters and the hydraulic capacity of the culvert under this
head waters, an engineer cannot access the effect of any slight increase in the head water
This project is limited to the structural design of culverts alone, but below is a brief
Velocity limitations include the maximum and the minimum velocities that should be
considered when designing a culvert, the outlet velocity affects the stability of the culvert, the
greater the outlet velocity the greater the need for stability, there is no specified maximum
velocity for reinforced concrete box culverts, but there should be provision of outer
Headwater is the height of water above the invert of a culvert at the entrance and exit of a
culvert. The allowable headwater can be gotten from the evaluation of the use of the land
upstream of the culvert, the slope of the area where the culvert is to be placed.
19 | P a g e
2.9.0 COEFFICIENT OF EARTH PRESSURE
The earth can exert pressure, minimum as active and maximum as passive, or in between
called pressure at rest. It depends on the condition obtained at site (Terzaghi4 and Gulati5).
For example in case of a retaining wall where the wall is free to yield and can move away
from the earth fill the pressure exerted by the earth shall tend to reach active state and thus be
minimum. As to reach active state only a small movement is required which can normally be
achieved in case of a retaining wall, also before failure of the wall by tilting, the back fill is
bound to reach active state. The wall thus can safely be designed for active pressure of earth,
with co-efficient applicable for active pressure. In case of an anchored bulk head, the earth
pressure on the anchor plate will tend to achieve passive state because the anchor plate is
dragged against earth and large displacement can be allowed, one can consider passive co-
efficient for the design of anchor, of course, some factor of safety need be taken as required
displacement to achieve passive state before the bulk head gives way may not be practical. In
cases where the structure is constructed before back fill earth is placed in position and the
situation is such that structure is not in a position to yield on either side, the earth pressure
shall reach a state at rest. In such situation the co-efficient of earth pressure shall be more
than the active condition. In case of box since it is confined with earth from both sides the
state of earth shall be at rest and a co-efficient more than the active pressure is normally
adopted in the design. The earth is filled after construction of the box further the box is not in
a position to move/yield therefore the pressure shall be at rest. The value is designer’s
choice. The co-efficient of earth pressure in case of box is taken to be 0.333 for a soil having
ф = 30º equivalent to active condition by many authors in their books of design. Some
authors take this value = 0.5 for normal soil having ф = 30º. (B.N.Sinha & R.P. Sharma
20 | P a g e
2.10.0 EFFECTIVE WIDTH
Effective width in the run of culvert (length across span) is expected to be affected by a moving
live load. This width plays a significant role as far as consideration of live load in the design of
culvert. Where however, there is large cushion the live load gets dispersed on a very large area
through the fill and the load per unit area becomes less and does not remain significant for the
design of box, particularly in comparison to the dead load due to such large cushion. In case of
dead load or uniform surcharge load the effective width has no role to play and such loads are to
be taken over the entire area for the design. Effective width plays an important role for box
without cushion as the live load becomes the main load on the top slab and to evaluate its effects
per unit run for design as a rigid frame, this load is required to be divided by the effective width.
As such evaluating effective width correctly is of importance. The relevant IRC Codes, other
Codes, books, theory/concepts are at variance as far as effective width is concerned and requires
discussions at some length. It is required to understand the concept behind effective width.
Basically, it is the width of slab perpendicular to the span which is affected by the load placed on
the top of slab. It shall be related to the area of slab expected to deform under load. It can be well
imagined that this area of slab which may get affected will depend on how the slab is supported
whether in one direction or both directions and secondly on the condition of support that is
whether free or continuous or partially or fully fixed. It can also be imagined that the width shall
be larger if the slab is allowed to slide over support under the load as in case of freely supported,
and the same will reduce if the slab is restrained from sliding and more the restraint the less shall
be the width. In this view the effective width shall be least for fully fixed and gradually increase
for partially fixed, increase further for continuous slab and shall reach maximum for slabs freely
supported at ends. Where support on one side is different than on the other side the effective
width should be obtained taking this fact in consideration. The distance of the load from the
21 | P a g e
near support affects effective width, more the distance larger will be the effective width and
will reach highest when the load is at centre. The ratio of breadth (unsupported edges) and the
span also affects effective width. All factors mentioned above need to be taken into account
while obtaining the effective width. The IRC: 21-20006 Clause 305.16 gives an equation for
obtaining effective width for simply supported and continuous slab for different ratio of
overall width verses span for these two kinds of supports. The Code does not provide if one
of the support is continuous while other is simply supported. The Code is silent for other
types of supports such as fixed or partially fixed. Some designers use this formula and factors
for continuous slab is taken valid for partially restrained support in a situation like box
culvert. This does not appear to be in order. The reasons for this can be better realized by the
explanations given in sub para 3 above. Nevertheless, effective width need to be obtained in
box type structure also to evaluate affected area by moving load for considering these in the
design. The AASHTO9 for Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges 17th Edition 2002,
provides at para 16.6.4.3 under RCC Box that “The width of top slab strip used for
distribution of concentrated wheel loads may be increased by twice the box height and used
for the distribution of loads to the bottom slab”. This confirms what is mentioned in sub para
5 and is alright. However, any such dispersal for bottom slab different than top slab shall not
be practical when braking force effect is to be taken, which shall have to be for the same run
of the box structure as a whole. (B.N.Sinha & R.P. Sharma October – December 2009).
If the culvert is operating on a steep slope it is likely that the entrance geometry will control
the headwater and the culvert will be on inlet control. Inlet control for culverts may occur as
unsubmerged or submerged. For the unsubmerged condition, the culvert invert slope is super-
critical and the culvert acts like a weir. For the submerged condition, the culvert doesn’t flow
22 | P a g e
2.12.0 OUTLET CONTROL
If the culvert is operating on a mild slope, the outlet characteristics will probably control
the flow and the culvert will be on outlet control. There are three types of outlet control
conditions.
The headwater is submerged and the outlet is submerged with the culvert
flowing full.
The culvert slope is sub-critical and the tail water depth is below the pipe critical
23 | P a g e
Figure 5: Diagram showing various outlet control method
This is another area where opinion of the designers vary in two ways firstly, whether braking
force caused by moving loads shall deform the box structure and should therefore be
should be taken to obtain force and moment per unit run of box. Of course the braking force
will affect the global stability and change the base pressure to some extent. The IRC Code is
24 | P a g e
silent as far as box is concerned. It will be in order to neglect effect of braking force on box
having large cushion. In such situation the braking effect will be absorbed by the cushion itself
and no force will be transmitted to the box beneath. Question will, however, arise up to what
cushion height no braking force need be taken. This height generally is taken to be 3 m. Thus no
braking force for cushion height of 3 m and more and full braking force for no cushion, for
intermediate heights of cushion the braking force can be interpolated. Braking force by the
moving loads on top slab of box having no cushion shall act on the box structure and shall
deform the box. The question is what length of box can be considered to share this braking force.
In another words what effective width of box shall be taken to obtain braking force per unit run
of box. One way is to take the effective width of box same as considered for vertical effect of
Moving loads create impact when these move over the deck slab (top slab). The impact
depends on the class and type of load. The IRC:6-2000 Code gives formula to obtain impact
factor for different kind of loads by which the live load is to be increased to account for
impact. The box without cushion where the top slab will be subjected to impact is required to
be designed for live loads including such impact loads. Any such impact is not supposed to
act on box with cushion. Hence no such impact factor shall be considered for box with
cushion. The impact by its very nature is not supposed to act at lower depth and no impact is
considered for the bottom slab of the box. It does not affect the vertical walls of the box and
not considered in the design. The IRC:6-200010, Code Clause 211.7 specifies that for
calculating pressure on the bearings and on the top surface of the bed blocks, full value of
appropriate impact percentage be allowed. But for design of pier, abutment below the level of
bed block, the appropriate impact percentage shall be multiplied by the factor given therein.
25 | P a g e
Accordingly, the impact is to be reduced to 50% below bed block and zero at 3 m below,
proportionately reducing between this heights. Although these provisions are for bridges
but can be applied in case of box structure in absence of any specific provision in the Code
for box in this regard. The AASHTO9 at para 3.8.1.2 specifies that impact shall not be
included for culverts having 1m or more cover. This, however, will be on lower side
compared to considering zero impact for a cover (cushion) of 3 m. It is, therefore, suggested
that considering full impact on top slab without cushion and zero impact for 3m cushion
and interpolating impact load for intermediate height of cushion is on conservative side and
can be safely adopted. (B.N.Sinha & R.P. Sharma October – December 2009).
One method to account for all culverts is to maintain an inventory of culverts and under-drains and
use a checklist from this inventory to account for culverts during inspections. Inspect culverts often,
especially in the spring and autumn, and after storm events, checking them for signs of corrosion,
joint separation, bottom sag, pipe blockage, piping, fill settling, cavitation of fill (sinkhole), sediment
buildup within the culvert, effectiveness of the present inlet/outlet inverts, etc. Check inlet and outlet
channels for signs of scour, degradation, agradation, debris, channel blockage, diversion of flow,
Practice preventive maintenance to avoid clogging of pipes and other situations which may damage
the culvert or diminish its design function. If a culvert is plugged with sediment, flush it from the
outlet end with a high pressure water hose. Take measures to reduce downstream sedimentation and
When replacing damaged culverts which handle the flow adequately, use the same size, shape, and
type of pipe. Changing any of these criteria may adversely affect the established stability of the ditch,
26 | P a g e
2.16.0 MULTI-CELL CULVERT
Multi-cell culverts provide a method of permitting bank full and lower flow to be conveyed through
a single culvert and storm flow to be conveyed across the floodplain without constriction.
Multi-cell culverts permit flood waters to flow essentially unimpeded across a floodplain. Multi-cell
culverts should not be used in Rosgen Type a streams due to steep slopes, in excess of 3%. They
should also not be used in Type D streams due to high bed loads. Placement of culverts in Types A or
D streams would likely obstruct fish passage. Single-cell culverts should be used rather than multi-
cell culverts in incised (Types F or G) channels since these channel types do not have a well-
developed floodplain. If these channels are actively incising, the channels must be stabilized prior to
culvert construction; a culvert placed in an actively incising channel will likely result in a perched
culvert. Multi-cell culverts are most effective in Types C and E channels since these channels tend to
have a well-developed floodplain. Floodplain cells are highly susceptible to debris accumulation;
therefore, in stream corridors with a significant debris jam potential, a moderate to heavy
accumulation of various size debris, present multi-cell systems may not be appropriate.
Most culverts are constructed from either corrugated metal pipe (CMP) or concrete. CMP is the
preferred material to maintain slower velocities for fish passage but may have a shorter design
Construction of multi-celled or single barrel culverts should proceed the same as for standard culverts
as detailed in MGWC 4.3: Culvert Installation. The following are general guidelines for design and
1. Assess the Rosgen stream type and the channel stability prior to designing the culvert system.
Alternatives to culverts should be considered for Types A and D channels. For all remaining channel
27 | P a g e
types, assess the channel stability to determine whether or not the channel is degrading or widening.
If the channels are unstable, widening, or degrading, a culvert system should not be used unless the
2. For incised stream types F or G which have been stabilized, a single cell culvert which can convey
3. For stable stream types C or E in which debris jam potential is not significant, a multi-cell culvert
system should be constructed where practical. One cell is placed within the bank full channel which
is designed to carry the bank full flow. The invert of this barrel should be depressed according to
MGWC 4.5: Depressed Culverts. One to three cells are placed on either side of the floodplain to
convey the design storm flow with minimum constriction of the flow. All erosion and sediment
control devices, including dewatering basins, should be implemented as the first order of business
according to a plan approved by the WMA or local authority. (See the 1994 Maryland Standards and
28 | P a g e
3.0.0 METHODOLOGY
According to (oyenuga. O. victor, 2001), a box culvert should be analysed as a rigid structure
with moments occurring at the corners. The Hardy Cross method of moment distribution is best
suited for the culvert analysis or the Kani’s method of moment distribution.
Culvert empty: Full load on top of the slab, surcharge load and
Culvert full: Live load surcharge on top slab and no superimposed surcharge
on earth fill.
Culvert full: Live load surcharge on top slab and superimposed surcharge
3.2.0 LOADING
Top Slab: The load include, slab own weight, imposed load ad weight of earth fill. In
cases where the depth of the earth fill is greater than three times the width of the
culvert, the earth load can be assumed to be equal to earth loads of height three times
the culvert. When a point load such as wheel loads incident on a culvert without earth
fill, the dispersal should be based on tyre width. For a wheel load on a fill of
height,h,
2
the load should be should be spread over an area of 4h , that is 2h, by 2h. When h
surcharge any pore water pressure. When the culvert is full, there will be water pressure
on the inside wall and wall should be designed to resist this pressure and assuming no
back fill. The walls need not be designed as tank walls. That is, no need to check for
29 | P a g e
stresses in the steel as well as checking for crack widths, the walls should simply be
Bottom slab: The top slab and all its imposed load, the walls and pressures on them
produce an upward pressure (reaction) from the ground and causes moment. The
weight of water in the culvert and weight of the bottom slab should be considered
when determining the maximum pressure on the ground but since they are borne by
TOP SLAB: The top of the culvert is designed as a slab, first of all, the total load acting on
the slab is determined, taking into account the live load and the dead loads. This is done
Dead load:
Live load :
Wheel load: wheel load x 2 (see B.S 5400 part 2:1978) (KN/m 2 )
The total load acted is then gotten from the addition of the live and dead load
2
F= (DL + LL) (KN/m )
BOTTOM SLAB:
Load acting on bottom slab include load transferred from the top slab and the
30 | P a g e
3.4.0 MOMENT CALCULATION
Top slab: The fixed end moment due to the total load is determined using the formula
M wl 2
12
Bottom slab: The moment in the slab is determined using appropriate formula.
The entire culvert is then analysed as a rigid body using Hardy cross’s moment distribution
method, the bending moment and shear force in all the members are determined and the
The arrangement of reinforcement steel and the area of steel to be used is determined using
the appropriate formula and the bar bending schedule is also provided.
31 | P a g e
References:
1- Federal Highway Administration," HYDRAULIC DESIGN OF HIGHWAY
CULVERTS", U.S. Department of Transportation, Publication No. FHWA-
NHI-01-020, September 2001, pp.367.
2- B.N. Sinha, & R.P. Sharma," RCC BOX CULVERT - METHODOLOGY AND
DESIGNS INCLUDING COMPUTER METHOD", Paper No. 555, Journal of
the Indian Roads Congress, October-December 2009, pp. (190-812).
3- Darryl Shoemaker, Ph.D., Jack Allen, Margaret Ballard, Stephen David, and
George Eliason," HIGHWAY ENGINEERING HANDBOOK", McGraw-Hill
Companies Copyright , First Edition. 2004, pp.933.
4- FHWA-IP-83-6," Structural Design Manual for Improved Inlets & Culverts",
June 1983, pp.314.
5- Krishna, Raju N.,"Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design", satish kumar,1st
edition, New Delhi,1988,pp.370.
6- IS 458-1988: "SPECIFICATION FOR PRECAST CONCRETE PIPES ((WITH
AND WITHOUT REINFORCEMENT)", BIS, New Delhi, pp.46.
7- (SP-16): IS- 456-l978:"DESIGN AIDS FOR REINFORCED CONCRETE",
BIS, New Delhi, And PP.255.
32 | P a g e