PREDICTING PERFORMANCE OF BURIED METAL CONDUITS.

The performance of buried metal conduits described in this paper was predicted by using the finite-element program Culvert Analysis and Design (CANDE) as modified by research done at Purdue University. The essential aspects involved in predicting conduit behavior are revealed through discussion of the following topics: (a) effects of using different soil models in the analysis, (b) effects of different soil-conduit interface conditions, (c) importance of the sequence in placement of soil layers, (d) yielding and buckling of the conduit wall, and (e) some applications of the analysis to practice. Buckling of buried metal conduits has been shown to be an important failure mode. In the absence of buckling, yielding in the conduit walls can result in a favorable redistribution of soil pressures.