Testing of a large-span soil-shell structure without stiffeners during backfilling process

Abstract

The paper presents the results of field tests carried out on a prototype structure in the form of a low-profile steel arch made from corrugated plates, covered with soil, which was intended as a wildlife overpass. The considered structure 17.7 m in span, 5.5 m high and over 15 m long, was made without any stiffening components. The aim of the tests was to determine the state of strain (stress) and displacement in the steel shell in the course of backfilling and the influence of time on the measured quantities during and after this process. The precision (total station) surveying method was used to measure displacements. Strains were measured by electrical resistance strain gauges stuck directly on the steel structure in the circumferential and longitudinal directions. Stresses and internal forces (bending moments and axial forces) in the particular cross sections of the tested object were calculated on the basis of the experimentally determined strains. The presented test results can constitute an element of boosting the knowledge about deformations and loads of similar large-span structures, without any stiffening components, during or after the backfilling process.