Jesse L Beaver

Management of Utah Highway Culverts

More than 47,000 culverts have been installed under the highways of Utah. The Utah Department of Transportation (DOT) maintains these culverts but has no comprehensive system for assessing condition and planning maintenance activities. Utah DOT initiated a study to determine the condition of its culverts by field surveys. The objective was to develop a system of qualitative and quantitative performance measures to assess both the long- and short-term behavior of highway culverts and to support the Utah DOT effort to modify and populate a computerized data-base designed to store culvert inspection data that can be used for statewide culvert asset management. Culvert management practices currently used by Utah DOT and other agencies are described. A total of 272 culvert inspections conducted during this project showed the inventory to be aging but not generally in need of immediate maintenance. The Utah DOT database, developed to track culvert condition, is effective but could be improved. Improvements woul...

Section Idealization of Corrugated Thermoplastic Pipe in AASHTO Design

The AASHTO Load and Resistance Factor Bridge Design Specifications (AASHTO LRFD) thermoplastic pipe design method requires corrugated pipe local buckling resistance to be determined based on corrugation effective area. The effective area may be determined through calculations or physical tests on sections of pipe. When determined through calculations, effective area is based on individual corrugation element (e.g., crest, valley, web) slenderness following methods published by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) for cold-formed steel design. Cold-formed steel members are rolled from constant-thickness steel sheet and have cross-sections divided into elements by distinct corners. In contrast, corrugated thermoplastic pipe cross-sections have variable geometries with non-uniform thickness, elements without distinct corners defining their ends, and elements that may be rounded or have other beneficial features such as intermediate ribs or stiffeners. Applying the calculation method requires idealization of corrugation elements into flat plates of representative clear width and thickness. As corrugation geometries have evolved with the increased use of thermoplastic pipe, there has not been a thorough review of appropriate methods of idealization to ensure current geometries meet the intent of the design method. This paper reviews the existing AASHTO LRFD effective area calculation method, information from background documents upon which the AASHTO LRFD method was based (NCHRP reports 438 and 631), and relevant information from the AISI Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members; identifies important concepts for cross-section idealization; and provides recommendations for idealization of corrugation members with curves and intermediate stiffeners.

Physical Testing to Determine Ultimate Strength of Bolted Longitudinal Seams in Deep Corrugated Structural Plate for Long-Span Structures

Steel structural plate bolted longitudinal seams are designed by using tabulated ultimate seam strength values published in ASTM A796. The applicability of tabulated values to varying widths of overlapping corrugated plate panels is uncertain. A test program was developed to evaluate the effect of varying panel width on ultimate seam strength. This paper describes the preparation required for test specimens, outlines the test procedure and data reduction, compares test results to the tabulated values to determine the effect of panel width, and proposes revisions and additions to the tabulated values. The test procedure for determining ultimate seam strength has been submitted as a draft ASTM Standard Practice.