Performance assessment of deteriorating reinforced concrete drainage culverts: A case study

Abstract Rectangular reinforced concrete (RC) culverts are widely used in drainage systems of many megacities, which may experience significant deterioration due to the corrosive sewage environment. How to assess the performance of existing RC culverts is crucial to the public safety. Currently, very few studies have been reported on the assessment of the performance of deteriorating RC culverts which are in service. This paper reports the research work on the performance assessment of a drainage culvert in Shanghai, China, which is one of the most populous megacities in the world. Field investigations are first conducted to examine the deterioration of drainage culverts in the real world. The deterioration of the culvert is modeled through a stochastic model, which is calibrated based on field investigation data. The performance of the culvert is then examined through the local design code, which seems to be overconservative. To avoid the conservative assumptions in the design code method, a high-resolution finite element model is built to assess the performance of the culvert. During the assessment process, the uncertainty associated with the deterioration is also considered. Based on the findings from the research, recommendations are made regarding the maintenance of the drainage culverts. The research reported in this paper may also provide useful reference for assessing the performance of deteriorating culverts in other regions of the world.