MXPA98010225A - Reinforced subterranean structures of tierra / me - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for controlling the deformation of an erected structural metal plate culvert or uneven passage during the filling of the erected structure comprising: progressively constructing a reinforced soil retention system on each side of the erected structure by alternately extending a plurality of compacted layers of earth with interposed layers of reinforcement to form reinforced earth on each side of the erected structure and securing to each side of the structure each of said reinforcement layers in the reinforced earth, whereby such securing of each said Reinforcement layers to said structure controls the deformation of the structure erected during the filling with the reinforced earth on each side of the structure. The reinforcing layer may be a plurality of strips extending away from the structure, or a reinforcing mat of interconnected rods.

Description

REINFORCED GROUND / METER UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method for filling culverts of erect structural metal plates or overpasses in a manner that avoids deformation of the structure during the filling process. This feature of the method is achieved by progressively building a reinforced soil retention system on each side only of the erected structure by alternately extending a plurality of compact layers of soil with interposed reinforcement layers. The structural culvert or overpass is designed to have sufficient structural strength to withstand anticipated live loads and dead loads. During the progressive construction of the reinforced earth, the contractor secures each reinforcement layer on each side of the structure. After the sides of the structure are filled, the overload can be placed in the usual way on top of the structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is a demand, particularly in remote areas, to provide overpass systems that include overpasses and that can carry not only dead loads, but also live charges. Such facilities may be associated with mining or forestry industries, where substantial tonnage vehicles pass over or pass under structural systems. There is also a continuous demand for upper passage and underpass structures for highways and other types of roads where the installation has the normal useful life and is cost effective. Other needs for overpasses are with respect to the construction of bridges and the like where there is minimal alteration to the riverbed. Such overpasses may also have restrictions in terms of the height of the overpass and the approach slope, which restrict the design of the overpass to some degree. Although many of these demands can be met with concrete structures, these are very expensive to install, are prohibitively expensive in remote areas and are subject to the weakening of the resistance due to the corrosion of the reinforcing metal and therefore, the repair . There have been significant advances with respect to the use of corrugated metal culverts, arc culverts and box culverts, such as those described in the U.S. patent. 5,118,218, which use metal sheets that have exceptionally deep corrugations with which, using significant material on the crown portions of the culvert and perhaps also on the portions of the culvert of the culvert, significant loads can be carried by the design of the culvert. sewer. The structures Ovoid and circular are described, for example, in the United Kingdom patent 2,140,848, wherein the wing members are used to increase the load carrying capacities, and in particular to avoid bending of the crown or roof structure according to the live loads they pass over it. The applicant has described in the patent of E.U.A. 5,326,198 a reinforced metal box culvert which is provided with a special form of continuous reinforcement along at least the crown or upper portion of the culvert. Significant advantages are provided in the load transport characteristics, reduced overload requirements and the ability to provide large bridge structures that reduce the cost. The improvements to the designs of the box culvert and the arched vault culvert are also described in the applicant's patents E.U.A. 5,375,943 and international application PCT / CA97 / 00407. These systems greatly facilitate the installation of large-scale structures with the capacity to transport live loads under a variety of conditions. As the installation of corrugated metal culvert structures gains acceptance, there is a greater demand for these structures to accommodate very large bridges usually of more than 6 meters and also of height of their well extended side wall that is also more than 6 meters.

Although these structures can be made to structurally resist both live and dead loads after the installation is completed, the filling of the structure presents a significant problem due to the deformation of the crown of the arch structure and / or the extended side walls. of the structure of the box culvert. The use of reinforced earth in the construction of arched openings is described in the patent 4,618,283. Such a construction technique avoids the arching of the structure because the side walls of the arched span are constructed as successive layers of reinforced earth that are deposited on the side and on the upper part of the structure. The technique involves building on each side of the arched vault reinforced earth that constitutes vertical support sections, and then building through the upper part of the arch using again reinforced earth to define the arched vault roof. As the arched span is constructed step by step, the coatings are applied to contain the reinforced earth and prevent such loose packed compaction of the reinforced earth structure from loosening and falling over the arched span. Such protective coatings can simply be attached to the vertical portions of the wire mesh that terminates at the edge of the arched envelope casing. Alternatives for the coating material include sprinkling concrete to provide a coating within the arched span, or the use of a corrugated metal lining. Optionally, reinforcing materials of vertical reinforced earth structures can be adhered to the corrugated metal lining. The lining is not designed to carry any structural load either live or dead, whereas live and dead loads are carried by the vertical support sections of reinforced earth as well as by the reinforced earth roof section. The use of reinforced earth is also described in Abdel-Sayed et al., "Soil-Steel Bridges" McGraw-Hill, Inc-chapter 8, page 269. The use of soil reinforcement by strips of steel adhered to the sides of a Structure of horizontal ellipse tubes is described. The apparent benefit of the use of these steel strips includes a greater load carrying capacity for the tube, reducing the axial load and almost eliminating bending moments due to live load on the wall of the conduit and among other things it restricts the movement of the pipe. tube during filling operation. However, the authors of that book sincerely doubt the benefit of connecting the steel strips to the tube, because this would restrict the movement of the tube during filling and prevent the development of full floor support for the tube, as well as create the effect of hard point in all locations where the tube is connected to the steel strips. It is generally understood by those skilled in the art when filling tube structures that it is important to allow the lateral segments of the tube are mobilized so that the maximum support of the soil can be achieved in the transport of live and dead loads. The authors, however, believe that the use of steel strips above the tube is beneficial and in fact similar to the structure claimed in the patent 4,618,283 where a reinforced earth is provided above the arched span as well as on the sides. It is well known that the load in an earth-metal structure is the product of the radius of the structure by the soil pressure that surrounds the structure. In a typical installation, an active earth pressure is exerted on the side walls of the structure during filling. This active pressure pushes the side walls inward and the crown or top wall up. As the filler progresses over the crown, an active pressure is applied to the upper part of the structure by pushing the crown down and the side wall outward. The pressure on the side wall then changes from active to passive. It's obvious, in this relationship, that because the pressure is moderately constant, small radius structures will produce large pressures and large radius structures will produce small pressures. The concerns of Abdel-Sayed refer to a horizontal ellipse structure in which the radius of the side wall is much smaller than the radius of the crown. In a horizontal ellipse, circular tube, pipe arc or flat arc, the side wall is motivated to move towards inside during the filling in order to develop more passive pressure, when the crown is filled and the side walls push outwards. H. Mohammed et al. "Economical Design for Long-Span Soil-Metal Structures" Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 23, 1996, pages 838-849 describe the use of reinforced soil with horizontal elliptical culverts having a greater crown radius and a smaller lateral wall radius. The reinforcement of the reinforced soil adheres only to the upper side wall of the horizontal ellipse culvert and the reinforced soil to a depth of 2 meters is provided above the culvert. This system is designed to support live and dead loads on the structure, but in no way faces the problems associated with the filling because with horizontal ellipse structures, the filling is not a significant problem. In a re-entrant arc-type culvert or a box-type culvert with an extended side wall, the situation is substantially different. In a re-entrant arc-type culvert the radius of the sidewall is much larger compared to the radius of the crown. The passive pressure required to stabilize the sidewall is much less than in a horizontal ellipse culvert. In a box culvert, with an extended side wall, the radius of the side wall is infinite because the wall is straight. There is no passive pressure on the side wall pushing it out. On the other hand, the side wall It must resist active pressure from the filling that pushes the wall inwards. Surprisingly, according to this invention, the use of reinforced soil according to which the reinforcement is adhered to the side portions of the culvert or low passage during filling provides a significant benefit to minimize or prevent deformation of the crown. and the side wall of the culvert or underpass.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the invention, a method is provided for controlling the deformation of an erect or low-pass structural steel plate raceway during the filling of and placing overload on the erected structure where the radius of the side wall of the structure is larger than the radius of the upper part of the structure. The method comprises: progressively building a reinforced soil retention system on only each side of the erected structure by alternately extending a plurality of packed compacted layers with interposed reinforcement layers to form reinforced soil on each side of the erected structure; wherein the structure is designed to have sufficient structural strength to withstand live loads and anticipated dead loads. securing on each side of the erected structure during the progressive construction of the reinforced earth, each of the reinforcement layers whereby such securing of each of the reinforcing layers to the structure controls the deformation of the structure erected during the filling with the reinforced earth on each side of the structure and placing the unreinforced fill overload on top of the structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred embodiments of the invention are described with respect to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a representative type of an arch culvert; Figures 2, 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d are views of representative types of culverts; Figure 3 is a section through an arc culvert having reinforced earth developed on each side of the culvert to prevent deformation during landfill with reinforced soil, Figure 4 is a section through a box culvert that has extended lateral walls and the development, of reinforced earth on each side of the box culvert to avoid deformation during filling; Figure 5 is a section through a portion of the corrugated metal plate of the erected structure having the reinforcement of the reinforced earth secured to the sidewall of the culvert; Figures 6a, b, c and d are sections through alternate embodiments for connecting the reinforcement to an iron angle which is connected to the sidewall of the culvert; Figures 7a, b, c, d and e are sections through alternate embodiments for the reinforcement connection; Figures 8a to 81 are top plane views of various types of reinforcements: Figure 9 is a side elevational section for connecting reinforcement to the sidewall of the culvert; and Figure 10 shows an alternate design for a box culvert having vertically extended side walls.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES Although it has been possible to make and build metal structures of large and / or long span, for example as described in the applicant's patents E.U.A. 5,326,191 and 5,375,943 and PCT / CA97 / 00407, its use has been limited, because during filling procedures, the capacity of the joints joined by bolts of the plate structural as well as the capacity of the corrugated metal plate can be exceeded to the extent that the structure is irreversibly deformed and can no longer support designs for loads. Earth / metal structures under high fill conditions are subject to various types of deformation depending on the design of the structure. High-performance structural steel plate culverts of reentrant, vertical, horseshoe, pear-shaped and box-shaped ellipses and low passages have been extensively used for the construction of motorways and railway passages and overpasses. In all these structures the radius of the side wall is greater than the radius of the upper part of the structure. These types of structures require a large vertical clearance and one of the main difficulties in the installation of such structures is that during the filling, peak deformation occurs in the crown of the structure. This deformation is caused by horizontal pressure exerted by the soil on the structure during filling. Horizontal pressure can cause the crown to fail due to the combined bending and axial tension in the corrugated metal plate or joints joined by bolts. A variety of techniques have been used in the past to control the peak or faults of the crown. These include compaction in the vicinity of the side wall of the culvert, rigidity of the crown by the use of concrete pads, continuous reinforcement, placing soil on top of the structure before filling and accumulating soil against the side walls within the structure before filling. All these procedures are expensive and can become dangerous and possibly result in structural failure during the filling process. It is very difficult to control these procedures and therefore, inconsistent results are achieved that can lead to failure of the structure. Similar concerns exist with respect to the filling of box culverts which in particular have high extended side walls. This is particularly important where the shape of the box culvert has been modified to create a high clearance structure. However, during the filling of the structures, the filling earth exerts lateral pressure causing the corrugated plate to bend inward and become overpressured due to the combination of axial and bending forces. This can result in the failure of the structure even before the installation is complete. An example of such an incident has recently been reported with respect to a fault in British Columbia, Canada where, the design involved the placement of fill around the metal arch as to form an arch / floor structure supporting the highway and loads of vehicle. The filling is basically "engineered soil" which is carefully placed on the sides and on top of the metal arch. The filling acts in two ways. In the Initial stages, as it is placed on either side, act as a load that pushes the side walls inward and the crown up. Great care is required to balance the filling on either side so that the deflections are symmetrical and controlled at low values. In the final stages it acts to support the arch so that the arch is able to carry the loads of the highway and traffic to the foundations. Large sewer structures such as this are sometimes so flexible that the side fill can not be brought to the level of the crown without causing a failure. On the other hand, the lateral filling is stopped when the upward movement of the crown reaches a white deflection, in this case almost 0.10 m. The filling is then placed on the crown of the structure. This causes some downward movement of the crown, and prevents further lifting of the crown as the side fill is brought to the level of the crown. This filling stage is very critical if the structure has not been designed to resist the direct filling at the level of the crown. The structure in British Columbia failed in an effort to control the peak during construction. A culvert 10 representative of the reentrant arc type is shown in Figure 1. The installation of the arc culvert 10 is erected by assembling on foundations 12 corrugated structural metal plates 14, which when bolted together in the usual manner provide the erect structure of figure 1. The problem associated with the filling of structures of this size, particularly structures of large bridges that have an extension of more than 6 meters is the peak in the crown portion 16. The peak is caused by the soil of filling that forces the side walls 18 inwards as shown in 18a and therefore forces the crown upwards as shown in 16a. Once the plastic movement of the structure is exceeded the crown is deformed and at this point the entire structure can collapse or if the deformation is controlled, radical measures have yet to be taken to save the structure and put it into service. With the box culvert system 20 of Figure 2, these structures are erected on foundations 22. In the usual manner the walls 24, the shoulder 26 and the crown 28 are erected from corrugated structural metal plate joined by bolts. During the filling of the structures particularly where the side walls 24 are vertically extended, the capacity of the side walls can be exceeded causing deformation. The backfill of the structure can exceed the capacity of the sidewalls by causing deformation in them, which could result in the failure of the structure before the installation is complete. In general, structures that can be filled according to this invention and do not cause failure typically have a radius for the side wall that is more larger than the radius of the upper structure. Structures that have these characteristics include reentrant, vertical ellipse, horseshoe, pear and box-shaped culverts or low passages. Examples of these structures are shown in Figures 1 and 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d and 2e which are respectively reentrant arc, box, vertical ellipse, pear and horseshoe shapes. In accordance with this invention as shown in Figures 3 and 4, a method for filling that controls the deformation of the erected structure is provided where the Rs (sidewall radius) is greater than Rt (radius of the top) . It should be clarified that these parameters to evaluate when the invention is best applied to a structure, could also be better seen to apply when the structure is generally higher than wide. This is particularly true for box culverts which with this invention can be considerably higher than their length. Even more, when considering the radius of the side wall of a box culvert, Rs approaches infinity. The area can be excavated to accommodate the structure 10 and provide a bed of material 30 with upward slopes 32. The area between the slopes and the side walls 18, and perhaps the area above the crown 16 must be filled in to complete the installation of the structure 10. In accordance with this invention, the reinforced earth is installed on each side of the structure 10 in a way that minimizes deformation of the crown or controls the deformation of the crown to the extent that the limits and capacity of the crown is not exceeded during filling. The reinforced earth has been used extensively to provide retaining walls, bunds and the like as described in the aforementioned 4,618,283 patent. The reinforced soil is developed by alternatively extending a plurality of compacted filler layers with interposed reinforcement layers to form the reinforced soil as shown in Figure 3. The filler is provided on the upper part of the excavation bed 30 and along the slopes 32 to form a first layer 34 of compacted fill. The filler can be any type of granulated material such as various types of sand, gravel, broken stones and the like. The loose fill even when compacted remains as a loose granular filling and has a relatively low resistance to deviating forces. After the first layer of compacted filling is installed a reinforcing layer 36 is extended where the reinforcing layer 36 is connected to each side of the sewer 18 in the 38 to secure the reinforcement to the side walls. This type of connection will be described with respect to the embodiments of Figures 5 to 9. The next layer of compacted soil 40 is then applied on top of reinforcement 36. After layer 40 is completed the next reinforcement layer 42 is completed. it is extended on the compacted layer 40. The reinforcing layer 42 is connected to the side walls at 44.

This procedure is repeated several times as required to fill the excavated space between the slopes and the side walls of the structure. Usually the last reinforcing layer 46 is connected to the side wall areas 18 in the 48 which is well below the crown or upper part 16. The inherent capacity of the crown portion during the remainder of the filling resists the forces of the compacted filling so that any additional peak of the crown is resisted. The filling is then completed at the level of the crown and the usual overload is then applied. The last padding layer on top of the reinforcement 46 is compacted only to the degree necessary to provide the necessary strength to the side wall movement that could affect the crown peak. By following the procedure of this method the reinforced soil system controls the deformation and / or failure of the crown or upper portion of the arc culvert. As noted, however, the fill with reinforced soil continues on the side of the structure until it becomes progressively redundant as the filling extends above the crown. The reinforcing layers 36 and 42 are tensioned as the fill with reinforced soil continues upward on each side of the structure. The reinforcement as it was connected to the side walls resists the inward movement of the side walls 18, and therefore, avoids the peak of the crown. The installation of the floor system Reinforced does not have to be in accordance with the reinforced floor system of the prior art. With this invention, the adhesion of the reinforcement to the side walls of the structure performs only an internal function that becomes obsolete at the end of the filling operation. The reinforcement layers need only be sufficient in number to resist deformation of the side walls during the filling process. Therefore, the height of the compacted fill for each layer can be considerably greater than what would normally be used in the installation of reinforced soil particularly when reinforced vertical columns are formed. The compacted fill can exceed the usual height of 0.3 to 0.9 meters. The reinforcements can be shorter in length than what is usually used and can be constructed of cheap materials, due to the momentary need for the reinforcement to be tensioned only during the filling operation. Where the installation requires it, the reinforcement can be made of biodegradable materials that have sufficient tensile strength so as not to affect the immediate environment of the filling design. The overload is developed in the usual way, so that when the overload is in place and any type of overpass is installed, the live loads and dead loads applied to the structure are accommodated by the capacity of the metal plate corrugated. For example, with the design criteria set forth in the American patents of the Applicants and the international application, the live and dead loads are accommodated by the filled structure in the usual way where the loads are resisted by the structural strength of the metal plate, as well as by the filling that resists the outward movement of the side walls which is commonly referred to as "positive arching". Similarly with the installation of Figure 4, an area can be excavated to provide a bed 50 with slopes 52. The foundations 22 are formed on the bed 50 and the structure 20 erected on the foundations 22. According to this embodiment the side walls 24 having an Rs value equal to infinity, are vertically extended to provide an increased clearance to accommodate trains, large tonnage vehicles and the like. In this type of installation an adequate track or railway track is built on the excavated bed 50. The filling of such erected structure can deform the high extended walls of the box culvert as indicated in 24a. Such deformation, if it exceeds the capacity of the structural plate can result in failure and collapse of the structure. According to this invention and with the embodiment of Figure 3 a reinforced floor is developed on each side of the structure during the filling operation where the reinforcement resists under stress such deformation inwards of the side walls. The reinforced soil system is developed on each side of the structure by providing a first layer of filling compacted 54, on top of which a reinforcing layer 56 is extended and secured at 58 to the side walls 24. This procedure is repeated several times as the excavated space is filled with reinforced soil where the last layer 60 reinforcement is connected to the structure usually in the region of the shoulder 26. At this point any additional reinforcement connection becomes redundant. The last filler layer can be compacted as required on the top of the reinforcement 60 to provide the necessary resistance to deformation in the crown portion 28 and the usual overload 62 is then applied to the crown. In accordance with this invention, the erected structures can be filled in an efficiently controlled, cost-effective manner, to ensure that the design limits of the structure during its life cycle are retained. The filling process does not require special filling or special techniques different from those commonly used in the development of reinforced floors. The procedure for securing the reinforcement to the side walls is achieved in a variety of ways where the tension located in the structure is minimized. This invention allows the installation of culverts and low passages, which could not have been achieved in the past. The length between the side walls may well be beyond the usual design limits which for example with box culverts are of a maximum height of approximately 3.5m and a maximum length of 3.3m to 8m. It is appreciated that with the advantages provided by our system defined in the patents 5,326,191, 5,375,948 and in the International application PCT / CA97 / 00407 those lengths can be increased to approximately 14m. With the additional advantages of this invention, the height of the box culvert can be increased beyond 6m and can be as high as 12m or more to accommodate traffic passing through a narrow but high grade overpass, such as a double car train. Such a structure greatly reduces costs because it is no longer required to provide a longer bridge in order to provide a significant vertical height for the overpass. The same considerations apply to incoming arcs that normally have heights of 6m and lengths of 16m. These dimensions can be significantly increased with the advantages of this invention, particularly, in combination with the characteristics of the reinforcing dams of patent PCT / CA97 / 00407. The design of the structural plate does not need to be made of material of excessive thickness to support the filling, however the plate can be of a thickness to support the live and dead loads when placed under a positive displacement. It is also appreciated that the design of the metal plate for the structure does not necessarily need to be corrugated due to the ability to resist deformation during filling once it has been provided that The design of the plate still meets the design criteria for structural support, to accommodate live and dead loads. The corrugated metal plate can be of the usual steel alloys which are optionally galvanized or of aluminum alloys. One embodiment for connecting the reinforcements to the side walls of the structure is shown in Figure 5. The reinforcement 64 is in the form of a wire mesh material, which consists of a plurality of interconnected intersecting rods 66 and 68. The rods they are connected, for example, according to the embodiments of figures 6 or 7, to a length of structural material that distributes the loads along the side wall of the arc or box culvert. An iron angle 70 can be used which is bolted at 72 to the interconnected corrugated plates 74. The bolts are normally used to connect the plates 74 and hence, a second nut 74 can be used to connect the angle iron to pin 72 in the assembly of the structure. As is customary, the spacing between the bolts is such that in each sautéed row or every third row of bolts, a reinforcement can be installed as the sides of the structure are filled with reinforced earth. The embodiments of Figures 6 and 7 show various types of connection of the reinforcement to the iron angle 70. As shown in Figure 6a, the rods 66 extending longitudinally have their end portions 78 extended through an opening 80 in the upper right portion 82 of the iron angle. The distal end 84 of each longitudinally extending rod 66 is then deformed to provide a button 86, which is larger than the opening 80 in the upper right portion so as to retain the reinforcement in the iron angle. The deformation of the distal end and the formation of the button 86 is such as to accommodate the tensile strength applied to the reinforcement during the filling of the side wall of the structure. As shown in Figure 6b, the distal end 88 of the longitudinally extending rod 66 is flattened to define a butterfly button 90 that holds the rod in place. As shown in Figure 6b the distal end 92 is bent over itself to define an elongate end 94 which retains the reinforcement 64 under tension at the iron angle 70. As shown in Figure 6d, the distal end 96 is bent upwards to form the strut 98 which retains the reinforcement in place at the iron angle 70. As shown in Figure 7, an alternate arrangement may be provided where the reinforcement 64 has the longitudinally extending rods 66 secured in place. the lower strut 100 of the iron angle 70. The lower strut 100 has an opening 102 formed therein to accommodate the rod 66 and has at its distal end 104 a deformed button 206 for securing the rod in place. Similarly with the embodiments of Figures 7b, 7c and 7d, the respective distal end 108, 110 and 112 is deformed to secure the rod 66 in the lower portion of the strut 100. In the embodiment of Figure 7e the rod 66 is bent over itself in 114 and secured in place by the rod wire 116. It is appreciated that the reinforcement interposed between each packed compacted layer for the reinforced soil may have a variety of structures and shapes and be made from a variety of materials, due to the temporary nature that the reinforcement is required to perform a function during the filling operation. In addition to the grid structure set forth in Figure 5, it is understood that other types of reinforcement may be used such as individual strips 118. As shown in Figure 8a, each end 120 of the strip is connected to the side wall of the strip. sewer either directly or through a distribution device of load such as the iron angle 70 of figure 5. This type of strip is very common for the system originally developed by "VIDAL" which is described for example in the French patent 75/07114 published on October 1, 1976. As Figure 8b was shown, strip 122 can be corrugated to improve its load carrying capacity. Other types of corrugations are shown in Figure 8c for strip 24 and spiral 126 in Figure 8d. In figure 8e the reinforcement can be rods 128 with elongations 130.

Alternatively ladder type arrangements 132 and 134 can be used as in figures 8f and 8g. The strips may also have elongated portions such as those shown for the strip 136 with elongate sections 138. Alternatively, the strip 140 of Figure 8i may have units 142 in the form of a spiral or helix. The rods 144 extending outward from FIGS. 8j, k and 1 may have elongated discs 146, elongated concrete masses 148 or flat plates 150 connected thereto for anchoring the strips in the compacted filler. It is appreciated that for the various types of reinforcement the strips and / or gratings can be made of any type of metal or plastic composite having sufficient structural strength to resist movement in the side wall of the erected structure during filling. Although some movement in the side wall will be accommodated by the design the strips can not fail to the extent that movement beyond the limit designed on the side walls is experienced. The materials for the reinforcements in the form of coatings, grids, strips and the like may be of recycled materials, non-expensive forms of structural materials and the like. The reinforcement does not have to be galvanized or otherwise treated to resist corrosion due to the temporary functional nature of the reinforcement. In this aspect the reinforcements can be made of biodegradable materials resistant to high tensile strength such as certain types of plastics and compounds and the like that are particularly suited to the immediate environment. With respect to the use of strips as reinforcement, the load distribution member 70, which is in the form of an iron angle is connected to the side wall 74 on the plate by pins 72. The strip eg 118 is then attached to the 170 iron angle through bolts 152 to complete the connection. Alternatively, in Figure 9b the iron angle 70 may have the strip 118 connected thereto by the use of a clasp 154, which extends through an opening 156 in the strip and 158 in the strut 100 of the iron angle 70. A significant advantage realized with this invention is that the erected structure can be of singularly configured shapes to accommodate special needs in the installed overpasses and overpasses. As shown in Figure 10, a box culvert structure 160 has a vertical side wall 162 and a side wall 164 inclined obliquely. This singularly shaped structure can be used to accommodate train traffic and the like where the cars swing outwards in curves. Normally the design of the culvert 160 needs to be of an elongated length to accommodate the rolling of the traffic of train cars. According to this embodiment, a smaller section between the side walls 162 and 164 can be used where the side wall 164 slopes obliquely outwards to accommodate the inclination of the car traffic. The structure 160 can be mounted in the usual way on foundations 166 where the bed of the tracks is developed on the excavated base 168. Reinforcement 170 as it is connected to the side walls ensures that the side walls do not deform during filling and more yet, it ensures that the obliquely oriented side wall 164 retains orientation during filling to achieve the desired result of an enlarged space in region 172. This special shape accommodates the tilting of the train carriages. It is appreciated that other side wall configurations may be utilized with the installation method of this invention. The side walls of the box culvert can also tilt sharply inward and the configuration of the arc side walls can also be varied to accommodate other special needs. Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been described here in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations thereto can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (10)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A method for controlling the deformation of a structural steel plate culvert or low passage during the filling and placing of overload on the erected structure, where the radius of the side wall of the structure is greater than the radius of The upper part of the structure, said method comprises: i) Progressively building a reinforced soil retention system on only each side of the erected structure by alternately extending a plurality of compacted infill layers with interposed reinforcement layers to form reinforced soil on each side of the erected structure, where said structure is designed to have sufficient structural strength to withstand dead loads and anticipated live loads; ii) securing on each side of the erected structure during the progressive construction of said reinforced earth, each mentioned reinforcing layer according to which each securing of each reinforcing layer to said structure controls the deformation of the structure erected during the filling with the mentioned reinforced earth on each side of the mentioned structure; and iii) placing over unreinforced filler loading on top of said structure.

2. - A method of claim 1, further characterized in that said structure is selected from reentrant arc culverts, vertical ellipse, horseshoe, pear and box-shaped culverts or overpasses.

3. - A method of claim 1, further characterized in that the erected structure is a bow culvert, each reinforcing layer being secured to said structure at the beginning of its lower region near its foundations and up to its crown to control the deformation in the crown during filling.

4. A method of claim 1, further characterized in that the erected structure is a box culvert having extended side walls, each of said reinforcing layers being secured to said side walls of the box culvert to control the deformation in the mentioned lateral walls of extended height during the filling.

5. A method of claim 1, further characterized in that said reinforcement is a plurality of strips that extend laterally away from said structure and rest on the upper part of a layer of compacted earth, before filling and compacting the next one. layer of earth on top of said plurality of strips.

6. - A method of claim 1, further characterized in that the reinforcement is a rod cover interconnected that extend laterally away from said structure and rest on top of a layer of compacted earth before filling and compact the next layer of soil on top of said cover.

7. A method of claim 1, further characterized in that the reinforcement is metal and said structure is corrugated galvanized steel plate.

8. A method of claim 7, further characterized in that means are provided for connecting said reinforcement to the structure, said connection means being accessible at each predetermined level for the respective reinforcement.

9. A method of claim 8, further characterized in that each of said layers of earth after compacting is approximately 0.3 to 2.0 meters deep.

10. A method of claim 8, further characterized in that the connecting means are bolted on the erect structure of metal plate in rows along said structure where the vertical separation between said structures determines the depth of each layer of compacted earth.