Dynamic amplification factors of corrugated steel plate culverts

The paper presents an experimental study on dynamic amplification factors (DAFs), which was conducted on four corrugated steel plate (CSP) culverts. The results of field tests under static and dynamic loads have also been presented. Displacements and strains caused by dynamic loads were higher than obtained from the static test. DAFs were determined on the basis of two methods. In the first method, the static response was directly obtained from static tests. In the second method, the static response was determined based on the filtration of the dynamic response of the culverts. Application of the filtering method on the dynamic response of the culverts in order to obtain the static value does not introduce large errors in the DAFs. In comparison to the first method the difference did not exceed 3%. The DAFs were in the range of 1.116–1.260 for displacements, and 1.105–1.293 for strains. The main factors affecting the DAFs are the span of the culvert, depth of the soil cover and vehicle speed. Conclusions drawn from the study can be helpful in the assessment of dynamic amplification and load rating in CSP culverts.

► Dynamic values were higher than those caused by the same load positioned statically.
► Dynamic amplification factor (DAF) established based on strains and displacements.
► Culvert span and depth of soil cover affect the DAF.
► Increasing in vehicle speed also causes increase in the DAFs.
► Dynamic response filtration method does not introduce too serious errors in the DAF.