Repair of Metal Culverts, Phase 1

Project summary:

The project will investigate several aspects of the culvert inspection/repair problem including: - techniques to identify voids and soft zones behind the steel liner; - up to four alternate techniques to strengthen the culvert without complete replacement; - monitoring of the performance of the alternate techniques during installation and over a period of several years; - recommendations for the adaptation of the techniques used on this culvert to other types, sizes and operational constraints of metal culverts in Minnesota. This Phase I request for the project will initiate the evaluation of voids and soft zones behind the steel liner, initiate computer analyses of expected behavior, and start detailed planning of the instrumentation of the repair. An early start on this work is critical because of the short time period left in the fall for field work. The Phase 2 research request will cover the remainder of the project and can be submitted in more detail as the specific repair approaches became clearer.