Escolar Documentos
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Box Culverts
Mahnaz Mostafazadeh, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE1; Ali Abolmaali, Ph.D., P.E., A.M.ASCE2;
and Masoud Ghahremannejad, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE3
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Louisiana Dept Trans & Dev on 06/19/19. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Abstract: This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations of the shear strength of synthetic fiber-reinforced concrete (SYN-
FRC) box culverts designed for fill height of 610 mm (2 ft) or less and subjected to the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) HL-93 wheel load. Shear and flexure material tests associated with numerical analysis were conducted to
obtain the material properties of concrete with compressive strength of 34 MPa (5,000 psi) and synthetic volume fraction of 0.52%. The mate-
rial tests showed that the shear and flexure strength of SYN-FRC were greater than those of plain concrete (without adding fiber). The flexure
material test showed that SYN-FRC can carry load even after concrete cracking, unlike the plain concrete, which collapses immediately after
cracking. In addition, four full-scale SYN-FRC box culverts were tested in the laboratory, and numerical models were calibrated, using experi-
mental data. The load was applied through a rigid steel plate at distance d from the tip of the haunch to satisfy the AASHTO HL-93 wheel load
requirements. The selected load location was a critical section for the shear and imposed shear failure mode. A comparison of box culverts
with and without synthetic fibers revealed that adding a synthetic fiber volume fraction of 0.52% increased the shear capacity and the ductility.
All specimens failed in the shear failure mode associated with an inclined shear crack from the tip of the haunch to the middle of the loading
plate. The results demonstrated that synthetic fibers can be a viable alternative to shear transverse reinforcements. Additionally, numerical ver-
ification of SYN-FRC box culverts validates the use of a concrete, brittle, cracking material model for simulating SYN-FRC in the finite-
element method (FEM). DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0001402. © 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: Synthetic fibers; Box culverts; Experimental program; Shear strength; Finite-element; AASHTO HL-93 wheel load.
Introduction increments. The inside corners of the walls and slabs are tapered
to create a haunch, with dimensions equal to the wall thickness,
Precast concrete box culverts are among the most multipurpose horizontally and vertically. The precast reinforced box sections
and cost-effective precast concrete products on the market today, can be produced by either the dry-cast or wet-cast method, but are
and the manufacturers offer a wide variety of standard box cul- typically dry-cast, with batches designed to yield 34.5 MPa
verts, as well as custom designs. Their uses are seemingly bound- (5,000 psi). Dry-casting is characterized by the use of a very low
less: underpasses, service tunnels, channels, outfalls, bridges, etc. water/cement (w/c) ratio of 0.35 or less.
ASTM Specification C1577 (ASTM 2017) specifies the design Under certain circumstances, box culverts might require shear
and manufacturing requirements that enhance their quality and reinforcement of the internal and external cages’ top, bottom, and
durability. side walls. This would be necessary if the fill above the top of the
The cross section of a typical box culvert is presented in Fig. 1. box section is higher than that tabulated in ASTM C1577 (ASTM
Precast concrete box culverts are produced in a range of standard 2017); the live load exceeds HL-93, the design tandem permitted by
span and rise combinations, with the sections typically defined by AASHTO (2017); or the box dimensions are beyond those men-
their span, rise, wall and slab thickness, and height of fill as meas- tioned in the ASTM C1577 (ASTM 2017) specification. The use of
ured from finished grade to the top of the box section. The stand- stirrups is the most prevalent problem associated with the design of
ard span per ASTM C1433 (ASTM 2003) and C1577 (ASTM box culverts because of the cost of labor and materials. Hence, man-
2017) varies from 910 to 3,660 mm (3 to 12 ft), and the rise varies ufacturers usually avoid using them by increasing either the con-
from 610 to 3,660 mm (2 to 12 ft), both in 304.8-mm (1-ft) crete compressive strength or the slab thickness.
There are some limitations to increasing concrete compressive
strength according to design specification (AASHTO 2017), and
1
Postdoctoral Fellow, Civil Engineering Dept., Univ. of Texas at changing the slab thickness is not always an available solution
Arlington, 425 Nedderman Hall, 416 Yates St., Arlington, TX 76019 (corre- because the manufacturers’ forms are typically fixed and are not ad-
sponding author). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9444-2015. Email: justable. Studies by Boulekbache et al. (2012), Wilson and
mahnaz.mostafazadeh@mavs.uta.edu Abolmaali (2013), Peyvandi et al. (2013), and Mostafazadeh and
2
Professor, Civil Engineering Dept., Univ. of Texas at Arlington, 425 Abolmaali (2016) have shown that synthetic fiber-reinforced con-
Nedderman Hall, 416 Yates St., Arlington, TX 76019. crete (SYN-FRC) performs impressively in increasing tensile and
3
Research Assistant, Civil Engineering Dept., Univ. of Texas at
shear strength of concrete and can be a desirable and economical al-
Arlington, 425 Nedderman Hall, 416 Yates St., Arlington, TX 76019.
Note. This manuscript was submitted on January 15, 2018; approved
ternative for designing underground structures such as box culverts.
on November 30, 2018; published online on March 19, 2019. Discussion Boulekbache et al. (2012) investigated and compared the influence
period open until August 19, 2019; separate discussions must be submitted of workability and compressive strength of concrete on the behavior
for individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Bridge of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) and direct shear. The parameters
Engineering, © ASCE, ISSN 1084-0702. considered were the steel fiber content, the aspect ratio of fibers,
and the concrete strength. Three types of concrete with various lev- The second phase focused more on the shear behavior of the
els of compressive strength and yield stress were examined: SYN-FRC box culverts and on conventional reinforcement. Four
Ordinary concrete (OC), self-compacting concrete (SCC), and full-scale tests were conducted on precast box culverts made with
high-strength concrete (HSC). The results revealed that the fiber concrete containing 0.52% synthetic fiber volume fraction. The
content, fiber aspect ratio, and concrete strength influence the shear results were used to validate the SYN-FRC box culverts simulated
strength and ductility considerably, and that the workability of con- by the finite-element method (FEM).
crete has an important effect on the orientation and distribution of Four full-scale box culverts with different slab lengths and rein-
the fibers in the matrix. Moreover, the ductility in direct shear forcements were tested up to failure by subjecting each culvert to
depends on the fiber orientation and is significantly improved when the AASHTO HL-93 wheel load (AASHTO 2017). An increase in
the fibers are perpendicular to the shear plane. Wilson and the shear strength of a box culvert with fiber was compared with a
Abolmaali (2013) compared synthetic and steel fibers, using ASTM similar box culvert with no fiber. To simulate the experimental
C1609 (ASTM 2011), flexural beam, and ASTM C39 (ASTM results in FEM, complete and detailed three-dimensional finite-
2015b) compressive cylinder testing. The results indicated that the element models of the test specimens were developed and analyzed
use of steel and synthetic fibers improved the flexural strength of with ABAQUS 6.14 software (ABAQUS 2018). The load-
concrete and changed mostly the post-peak behavior of concrete deflection plots and the crack patterns obtained from the FEM anal-
by reducing concrete brittleness (ACI 2017). Peyvandi et al. yses were compared with those gained from the experimental
(2013) conducted comprehensive experimental research to evalu- results. It was concluded that there was good agreement between
ate the efficiency of different synthetic fibers (aramid, Arkansas- the FEM and experimental results.
glass, carbon, and polyvinyl alcohol) applied in various volume
fractions in dry-cast, lean, zero-slump concrete pipe production.
Large-scale structural evaluation of the concrete pipes indicated a Phase I: Investigation of Synthetic Fiber-Reinforced
30% improvement in their load-carrying capacity and a 50% Concrete Material Properties
reduction of welded wire fabric steel reinforcement layers.
This two-phase research is part of a comprehensive study on Experimental Program
how to enhance the shear capacity of box culverts, using synthetic
fibers. The first phase consisted of three material tests, with greater Materials and Specimens
focus on the shear test (Mostafazadeh and Abolmaali 2016). A total BASF Chemical Company’s (BASF Chemical Company 2012)
of 60 beams were tested (five different fiber volume fractions), macro synthetic fibers, made from a blend of polypropylene resins,
based on the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) G-553 (JSCE met the requirements of ASTM C1116 (ASTM 2015a) and were
1999) and ASTM C1609 (ASTM 2011), to extract the shear and used for this study. Table 1 gives the physical properties of the
flexural behavior of SYN-FRC elements, respectively, for concrete fibers. Typically, synthetic fibers are used for reinforcing concrete
with compressive strengths of 28 MPa (4,000 psi) and 34 MPa in order to control shrinkage, temperature, and settlement cracking;
(5,000 psi). The concrete used in this study was dry-cast and zero increase flexural toughness and impact resistance; and improve re-
slump, which is typically used for mass production of concrete sidual strength, durability, and cohesion (BASF Chemical
pipes, manholes, and box culverts, because the forms can be Company 2012). Fig. 2 presents the type of fiber applied in this
stripped as soon as the concrete has been consolidated. The results research.
of this phase were utilized to develop the material behavior of SYN- Table 2 presents the mix design for 34 MPa (5,000 psi) compres-
FRC, using finite-element analysis (FEA), to model and analyze the sive strength dry-cast concrete, to which a 0.52% synthetic fiber
various sizes of the SYN-FRC box culverts. volume fraction was added. The synthetic fibers were introduced
Property Value
used in this research. The loading protocol followed the displace-
Specific gravity 0.91 ment control algorithm with a rate of 0.001 mm/s (0.00004 in./s).
Melting point 160°C (320°F) The displacement of the specimen, parallel to the shear plane in the
Ignition point 590°C (1,094°F) middle of the beam, was measured by two linear variable displace-
Absorption Nil ment transducers (LVDTs). The load-deflection curve was plotted,
Alkali resistance Excellent based on the average of three beam test results (the results of all
Tensile strength 585 MPa (85 Ksi) three samples with 0.52% fiber volume fraction and the average of
Length 54 mm (2.1 in.) them have been presented in this figure). Fig. 4 depicts the JSCE
Aspect ratio 67 shear test results for SYN-FRC with 34 MPa (5,000 psi) compres-
Fiber type Embossed sive strength and 0.52 and 0% (plain concrete) fiber volume frac-
Material 100% virgin polypropylene tion. The flexural behavior of SYN-FRC was investigated based
Chemical resistance Excellent on ASTM C1609 (ASTM 2011). All of the flexural beams were
Modulus of elasticity 6,900 MPa (1,000 Ksi) 150 150 500 mm (6 6 20 in.), and they were all tested af-
Density 908 kg/m3 (1,530 lb/yd3) ter 7 days of curing. From this test, first peak and peak load before
failure were determined, as well as the load-deflection curve up to
the specified deflection (L/150). It should be noted that the
applied displacement for loading was 0.05 mm/min (0.002 in./
min). Fig. 5 presents the flexural beam test setup. Fig. 6 illustrates
the load-deflection plot attained from the flexural test conducted
on the beam specimens with and without fibers. Each curve repre-
sents the average of the test results of the three beam specimens
(the results of all three samples with 0.52% fiber volume fraction
and the average of them have been presented in this figure).
To evaluate the compressive strength of FRC, six cylinders
were cast for each target fiber dosage (0.52 and 0% fiber volume
fractions). After 7 days, all cylinders were capped according to
ASTM C617 “Standard Practice for Capping Cylindrical Concrete
Specimens” (ASTM 2015c) and were tested based on ASTM C39
Fig. 4. Load-deflection curve based on JSCE shear test for concrete with 34 MPa-specified compressive strength.
Fig. 6. Load-deflection plot based on ASTM C1609 beam test for concrete with and without fiber.
Table 3. Compression test results for 0 and 0.52% fiber volume fractions of the cages, as per ASTM A185 (ASTM 2005). The sizes of the
steel wires were W2.5 to W9.0, with the nominal area of 16.13 mm2
Vol. fraction Compressive strength Standard deviation (r) (0.025 in2) through 58.06 mm2 (0.09 in2) per reinforced wire.
(VF) (%) [MPa (psi)] [MPa (psi)] Typical spacing of wires was 50 (2), 75 (3), and 200 mm (8 in.).
— 34.0 (4,940) 1.24 (180) Details of reinforcement for all tested box culverts are given in
0.52 39.9 (5,790) 1.58 (230) Table 5.
Fig. 8. Comparison between FEM and ASTM C1609 flexural beam test results (0.52% VF).
Fig. 10. Comparison of test results for 12 4 ft box culverts with and without synthetic fibers.
conventional reinforcement without adding fiber to concrete) con- Table 6 summarizes the events that occurred during the testing
ducted by Garg (2007) followed the force control, the test stopped of each specimen. It should be noted that flexural cracks were mani-
after reaching the failure load. However, the recent experimental fested first in all of the test specimens, and the initial nonmeasurable
tests were performed using a displacement control algorithm, which cracks formed on the inside face of the top slab at the vicinity of the
enabled access to post-failure behavior. Based on the obtained load plate at loads ranging from 245 to 400 kN (from 55 to 90 kip).
results, adding the synthetic fiber to the concrete mix design signifi- Although the original cracks widened slowly, as the load was being
cantly enhanced the shear strength and ductility of the box culvert. increased, the negative flexural cracks formed on the outside face of
In all of the tests conducted, the load plate was placed on the left the top slab at loads ranging from 431 to 588 kN (from 90 to
side of the culvert’s top slab. In all of the box culverts, the first crack 132 kip) for different test specimens. The first flexural cracks on the
was a superficial flexural crack, which occurred on the inside face outside face of the left wall formed at loads ranging from 315 to
of the top slab, directly under the load plate. Flexural cracks con- 625 kN (from 71 to 140 kip) for different test specimens. It is worth
tinued to occur in this area throughout the experimental investiga- noting that even though the load plate was located at the distance d
tion. As presented in Fig. 11(a), in all of the box culverts, the from the tip of the haunch to ensure that the test specimens failed
main crack was a shear crack that occurred diagonally from the predominantly in shear, shear cracks were not detected until the
tip of the left haunch to the middle of the load plate. The details of loads reached 355 to 800 kN (from 80 to 180 kips), as given in
the cracking on the top slab and walls of one of the box culverts Table 6. The ultimate load for all of the test specimens ranged
are presented in Figs. 11(a–f). The load versus deflection plots (at from 540 to 930 kN (from 88 to 122 kips), with their mode of fail-
the center point of the load plate) for all of the box culverts are ure being shear, combined with flexure. It should be noted that
presented in Fig. 12. since the boxes have been manufactured in two different plants
Fig. 11. Experimental photographs: (a) crack patterns under the load plate of top slab; (b) inside face of top slab; (c) outside face of top slab;
(d) inside face of bottom slab (no crack); (e) outside face of left wall; and (f) outside face of right wall (Box 12 4 ft—1,433).
and based on two different standards, ASTM C1433 and C1577 was investigated after the material properties of SYN-FRC were
(as given in Tables 4 and 5), the main shear crack and ultimate calibrated in Phase I.
load occurred in different magnitudes. Since this study aims in
developing the structural behavior of SYN-FRC in the FEM, the Elements
experimental test on boxes with different geometry are mainly
used for this purpose. Solid Elements
Solid elements are the standard volume elements in the ABAQUS
6.14 software (ABAQUS 2018) and can be presented as a single ho-
Finite-Element Model of Synthetic Fiber-Reinforced
mogeneous material. These elements are accurate if distortion does
Concrete Box Culverts
not occur, which is more likely in quadrilaterals and hexahedras. In
To study the shear behavior of box culverts equipped with SYN- this study, eight-node isoperimetric solid elements with hourglass
FRC, three-dimensional finite-element models were prepared for all controls and reduced integration algorithms were used for modeling
of the designated box culverts. The material and geometry nonli- box culverts, base supports, and loading plates, as presented in
nearities were considered for all of the models. The base support of Fig. 13. Reduced integration was used in lower-order integration to
the box culvert was modeled as a rigid rectangular block, and the form the element stiffness in order to reduce computational time.
contact between the box and block was defined as surface-to-sur- They are also referred to as uniform strain or centroid strain ele-
face contact elements. The behavior of the SYN-FRC box culverts ments with hourglass control.
Fig. 12. Experimental load-deflection plots for the tested box culverts.
Table 6. Events
Fig. 13. C3D8R: eight-node linear brick, reduced integration, hourglass control.
culverts. For the cylinder and loading plate, a normal steel prop-
erty with a density of 7,800 kg/m3 (13147 lb/yd3), Young’s mod-
ulus of 200 GPa (29,000,000 psi), and Poisson’s ratio of 0.3 was
selected.
culverts. To this end, the material properties of 5,000 psi (34 MPa) 3. The failure mode of the tested box culverts in this research was
specified concrete compressive strength equipped with 0.52% syn- a punching shear failure mode at the top slab. The internal
thetic fiber volume fraction were obtained from numerical analysis, stresses caused by the external load (AASHTO HL-93) were
using a brittle crack model and verified by material test results. Four redistributed in each loading step due to indeterminacy of the
full-scale SYN-FRC box culverts were experimentally investigated system. Some flexural cracks occurred all over the specimens
Fig. 17. Comparison between FEM and experimental results for box culvert 4 4 ft—1,433.
Fig. 18. Comparison between FEM and experimental results for box culvert 12 4 ft—1,433.
Fig. 19. Comparison between FEM and experimental results for box culvert 8 4 ft—1,577.
Fig. 20. Comparison between FEM and experimental results for box culvert 4 4 ft—1,577.
verts, storm drains, and sewers designed according to AASHTO LRFD. fiber reinforced concrete.” Adv. Civ. Eng. Mater. 5 (1): 371–386. https://
C1577. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM. doi.org/10.1520/ACEM20160005.
BASF Chemical Company. 2012. “MasterFiber MAC matrix.” Accessed Peyvandi, A., P. Soroushian, and S. Jahangirnejad. 2013. “Enhancement of
January 15, 2018. http://assets.master-builders-solutions.basf.com the structural efficiency and performance of concrete pipes through fiber
/Shared%20Documents/EB%20Construction%20Chemcials%20-%20US reinforcement.” Constr. Build. Mater. 45 (Aug): 36–44. https://doi.org
/Admixture%20Systems/Data%20Sheets/MasterFiber/basf-masterfiber /10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.03.084.
-mac-matrix-tds.pdf. Wilson, A., and A. Abolmaali. 2013. “Comparison of material behavior of
Boulekbache, B., M. Hamrat, M. Chemrouk, and S. Amziane. 2012. steel and synthetic fibers in dry-cast application.” J. Transp. Res. Board
“Influence of yield stress and compressive strength on direct shear 2332 (1): 23–28. https://doi.org/10.3141/2332-03.