Diagnostic load testing and assessment of a corroded corrugated metal pipe culvert before rehabilitation

AbstractBuried culverts are important structures within the civil infrastructure that convey water beneath roadways, bridges, and other systems while also being load bearing. However, many culverts are deteriorating and reaching the end of their design life span, where assessment methods to determine whether replacement or rehabilitation techniques such as spray applied pipe liners (SAPLs) are needed to extend their service life. In this study, mounted sensors and vision-based measurement techniques are used to assess the in situ conditions of a culvert consisting of corrugated metal pipes before being rehabilitated with geopolymer (cementitious-based) SAPLs. Results from diagnostic load tests (variating from static to dynamic) are presented to evaluate maximum deformations, verify the load-carrying effectiveness of the SAPLs, and compare results to design calculations due to the presence of a live load acting on the culvert.Keywords: Corrugated metal pipeculvertdiagnostic load testdigital image measurementspipe rehabilitationspray applied pipe liner Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)Additional informationFundingFunding for this study was provided by the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), Agreement No.1921P1 for Structural Performance Verification of Structural Pipe Liners for Corrugated Metal Pipes. Any opinions, conclusions, or recommendations presented in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the funding agency, BDI Diagnostics, or Imetrum. The authors would also like to acknowledge Mr. Gary Wenczel from the University of Delaware for assisting in the diagnostic load tests by directing the trucks and installing strain gauges. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.