ARCHIWUM INSTYTUTU INYNIERII LDOWEJ

Nr 12 ARCHIVES OF INSTITUTE OF CIVIL ENGINEERING 2012

RELINING OF OLD STEEL CULVERTS

DAMAGED BY CORROSION

Karl-Gunnar LUNDSTRM*, Sten-Erik LAGER**, Lars HANSING**

*
) WSP, Karlstad, Sweden
**
) ViaCon AB, Lidkping

Abstract
Soil-steel flexible culverts have been used since the end of the 19th century.
Corrosion protection provided for steel culverts both for carrying water and for
other purposes has until recently been hot dip galvanizing. Depending on condi-
tions, such as the quality and speed of the water, the lifetime of those culverts va-
ries. Many older culverts protected with hot dip galvanizing only are corroded to-
day and in need of either replacement or renovation.
The corrosion damage is always concentrated in the lower parts of the cul-
vert, mainly in the area around the average water level (the so-called splash zone)
and the very bottom of the culverts. In some cases corrosion generated holes in
steel with a risk of backfill erosion and collapse of the culvert.
A common method used for renovation has until today been to reline the cul-
vert using shotcrete.Shotcrete provides good corrosion protection and will prevent
further erosion of the backfill. On the other hand, the method results in a stiff
concrete structure inside the flexible steel culvert and therefore the way the load
is transferred may be questioned. To overcome this problem a method of relining
only the bottom of the culvert is proposed. This paper presents this alternate me-
thod showing a real culvert structure being relined. The method has been ap-
proved by the Swedish Transport Administration.

Key words: Soil-steel flexible culvert, corrosion, renovation, transmission of

forces

1. INTRODUCTION
Older culverts carrying water often suffer from corrosion. Corrosion damage
is always limited to the lower parts of the culvert, mainly the area around the
average water level (the so-called splash zone) and the very bottom of the cul-
vert (see Figure 1). This type of corrosion reduces the service life of the struc-
ture. An investigation of the real service life of old steel culverts together with
commonly used repair methods in Sweden has been presented in (Mattsson and
Sundquist 2007).
126 Karl-Gunnar Lundstrm, Sten-Eric Lager, Lars Hansing

When an old culvert is damaged from corrosion, it can either be replaced or

renovated. The choice is often to replace it with a new culvert. However, in
many cases a replacement is very costly in itself. or the works related to re-
placement cause very costly disturbances to society. This can be the case when
the culvert is located under a road with heavy traffic or if there is not any possi-
bility for diversion. Culverts under high embankments can also be very costly to
replace.

Figure 1. Corroded lower part of hot dip galvanized culvert used to carry water through a road
embankment. The photo shows culvert after it was made dry for renovation purposes

To reline an old culvert it has to be possible to divert the water and thus
create a dry working environment. The water is often pumped to an adjacent
culvert down the road or through the old culvert in a tube hanging inside. Some-
times the water is pumped through a temporary culvert that is installed under
shallow cover. The cross sectional area of a renovated culvert is smaller than the
original one. The new area must therefore be checked with respect to available
data on water flow and water levels.

2. RELINING OF THE BOTTOM PART OF CULVERT

2.1. Relining principles

After diverting the water, the culvert must be cleared from sediment and in-
spected. In long culverts it is practical to install lightning to facilitate the works.
The new lower part of the culvert is pre-assembled in sections of about
6 meters in length (see Figure 2). The sections are then successively attached to
one another just outside the old culvert and pulled in. To facilitate pulling, run-
ners can either be installed on the floor of the old culvert or on the new bottom
part (see Figure 3).
 Relining of old steel culverts damaged from corrosion 127

Figure 2. New lower part being installed in the existing pipe

The runners will also serve as spacers that will create the desired space for
the concrete between the old culvert and the new bottom part. Once inside, the
new bottom part is fixed to the old culvert in the correct position.

Figure 3. New lower part before installation. Note the small

runner installed to facilitate installation in the existing pipe.

The runners will also serve as spacers that will create the desired space for
the concrete between the old culvert and the new bottom part. Once inside, the
new bottom part is fixed to the old culvert in the correct position.

2.2. Transferring forces from the top part to the lower part of the culvert
Once the new bottom part is in place it is fixed to the old culvert using spe-
cially designed connections. The connections transfer the normal forces from the
upper part of the old culvert to the new bottom part. The distance between the
connections depends on the forces to transmit. However, it must be a multiple of
128 Karl-Gunnar Lundstrm, Sten-Eric Lager, Lars Hansing

the corrugation wave length. The connections are welded into the old culvert and
bolted to the new bottom part (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. Connection details between existing pipe and new bottom part is being welded in place. The
connections are designed to be able to transfer the load from the top part to the new bottom part

The connections will be completely covered with the concrete that is poured
between the old culvert and the new bottom part. Concrete therefore serves as
corrosion protection for the connections and will also introduce additional stabi-
lization.

2.3. Pouring of concrete

Once the new bottom part and the connections are in place, the void between
the old culvert and the new bottom part is filled with concrete. The concrete will
create a non corrosive environment and support the new bottom part.

Figure 5. Finished connection between old top part and new bottom
part. All welded parts will later be encased in concrete
 Relining of old steel culverts damaged from corrosion 129

The lifting force of the concrete must be calculated so that the necessary
spacing of the props can be determined. For smaller culverts with curved bottom
parts, the connections are often enough, but if the new bottom part has a large
radius, props will be necessary (see Figure 6).

Figure 6. Culvert prepared for concrete pouring.

The concrete is pumped and must be fluent enough to fill all voids. In cases
where the old culvert is in a bad shape with holes through to the back-fill, the
concrete will also fill voids outside the old culvert. An additional volume of
concrete could be needed in those cases. If ground water is leaking in from the
back-fill, the concrete must be adapted for pouring under water. The finished
result is shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Culvert after concreting

2.4. Life-time expectancy
The renovated culvert should be given a life-time expectancy corresponding
to the needs of the owner. The life-time expectancy can be calculated for exam-
ple using the method presented in (Kukkonen 2007) for Finland with respect to
the environmental conditions and to the available thickness of the epoxy coating,
 130 Karl-Gunnar Lundstrm, Sten-Eric Lager, Lars Hansing

zinc layer and corrosion reserve of the new structure. It should be noted that
when attaching the connections, the welding causes damage to the old culvert
that will speed up corrosion on the outside of the old culvert. Measurements has
shown that about 50% of the zinc coating is left after welding.

3. SUMMARY
Older culverts, normally hot dip galvanized, and carrying water will often
suffer from corrosion in theirlower parts. The choice of either keeping the cul-
vert in place and renovating it, or replacing it completely is of course a question
of cost, but also traffic considerations come into play. In this paper a speedy
method to restore corroded culverts with a new bottom part is presented.

REFERENCES
1. Mattsson, H-. and Sundquist, H., The real service life and repair methods of
steel pipe culverts in Sweden, Archives of Institute of Civil Engineering, First
European Conference on Buried Flexible Steel Structures, Poznan, Poland 2007
2. Kukkonen, P., Expected service life analysis of steel culverts in Finland, Arc-
hives of Institute of Civil Engineering, First European Conference on Buried
Flexible Steel Structures, Poznan, Poland 2007

Streszczenie
Przepusty stalowo-gruntowe s stosowane od koca XIX wieku. Do niedawna
ochrona przed korozj przepustw stalowych uywanych do transportu wody oraz in-
nych celw opieraa si o cynkowanie na gorco. Trwao takich przepustw jest zr-
nicowana w zalenoci od okolicznoci, takich jak szybko przepywu wody i jej ja-
ko. Do dzi wiele starszych przepustw zabezpieczonych jedynie przy pomocy cyn-
kowania na gorco ulego korozji i wymaga wymiany lub renowacji.
Uszkodzenia korozyjne skupiaj si zawsze w dolnych czciach przepustu, gwnie
w obszarze wok linii redniego poziomu wody (tzw. strefa mokra) i na samym dnie. W
niektrych przypadkach korozja powoduje powstanie otworw w stali, co grozi erozj
zasypki i zapadniciem si przepustu.
Dotychczas do renowacji przepustw powszechnie stosowane byo pokrycie we-
wntrznych powierzchni przepustu torkretem. Torkret zapewnia dobr ochron przed
korozj i zapobiega dalszej erozji zasypki. Z drugiej strony, ta metoda powoduje po-
wstanie sztywnej konstrukcji betonowej wewntrz podatnego przepustu stalowego, co
moe budzi wtpliwoci dotyczce sposobu przenoszenia obcie. W celu poradzenia
sobie z tym problemem zaproponowano metod pokrywania betonem jedynie dolnej
czci przepustu. Praca przedstawia tak alternatywn metod oraz renowacj rzeczywi-
stej konstrukcji przepustu. Metoda zostaa zatwierdzona przez Szwedzk Dyrekcj ds.
Transportu.

Sowa kluczowe: podatny przepust gruntowo-stalowy, korozja, renowacja, przenoszenie

si