A Study on present situation, construction procedures, sensitivity towards the fill height and possible failure scenarios of corrugated soil-steel bridges using PLAXIS

Abstract

The Southern Highway Project introduced the technology of using Soil-Steel Bridges to Sri Lankan construction industry for the first time. Because of the fact that the technology is still new and less familiar, therefore, it is very important to look at the suitability of the Soil-Steel structures in the Sri Lankan context. The corrugated Sail-Steel Bridges hare been used as underpass and drainage structures in the Southern Highway Project. Corrosion of the metal structure highly depends on the soil types and the ground water conditions of the region where the structure is to be constructed. Already constructed soil-steel structures were closely examined in-order to collect the information on corrosion The loading and unloading procedures given in the guidelines are questionable and there is a need to establish proper guidelines for loading and unloading process for the safety during construction and while the structure is functioning. The actual construction sequence followed in the soil-steel structure construction was modelled using Finite Element Computer Modelling and the stresses and deformations of the structure were obtained. The stresses of the steel structure under different fill heights and the HA loading was also modelled using Unite element computer modelling: Using FEM model, possible failure scenarios n ere identified.