Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568
DOI 10.1007/s10706-012-9608-0
ORIGINAL PAPER
Investigation of Induced Trench Method Using a Full Scale
Test Embankment
Alper Turan • M. Hesham El Naggar •
Dave Dundas
Received: 7 May 2012 / Accepted: 13 December 2012 / Published online: 14 March 2013
 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
Abstract The construction of highway embank-
ments in urban areas often interferes with existing
underground facilities such as sewer lines and other
buried conduits. In many instances, the extra loads
imposed by embankment construction on buried
conduits would be unacceptably high. Severe conse-
quences of overstressing an underground utility con-
duit include damage and interruption of services for
both the utility and highway. Typical alternatives
considered to address this problem include: relocation
of utility lines; embankment load reduction using
lightweight fill; at-grade pile cap bridging; at-grade
geogrids-reinforced bridging; and induced (imperfect)
trenches. The relocation, lightweight fill and pile cap
alternatives are usually cost prohibitive. A full-scale
instrumented test embankment is constructed by
Ontario Ministry of Transportation to study the effects
of embankment construction on the underground
A. Turan (&)  D. Dundas
Material Engineering Research Office (MERO), Ministry
of Transportation, 1201 Wilson Ave., Downsview,
ON M3M1J8, Canada
e-mail: alperturan@hotmail.com; alper.turan@ontario.ca
D. Dundas
e-mail: dave.dundas@ontario.ca
M. H. El Naggar
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
The University of Western Ontario, London,
ON N6A 5B9, Canada
e-mail: helnaggar@eng.uwo.ca
utilities. The test embankment comprised four sec-
tions, which facilitated the evaluation of four config-
urations including the conventional backfill, induced
trenching and two at-grade geogrid-reinforcing bridg-
ing with different spans. Each configuration consisted
of a 3 m deep trench overlain by a 10 m wide, 10 m
long and 6 m high embankment section. Earth load
cells were installed to monitor stresses at the fill/
ground interface and at depths of 1.5 and 3 m. The
numerical models of the test embankment are gener-
ated using the finite difference program FLAC. This
paper presents the results of stress measurements in
the 3 m wide trench under embankment loads and the
results of numerical varification analyses. The results
showed that the use of induced trench method (ITM)
resulted in substantial reduction in vertical stresses
relative to positive projection method case. It was also
observed that horizontal stresses increased when ITM
is employed.
Keywords Induced trench  Test embankment 
Underground utilities  Stress reduction
1 Introduction
The induced trench method (ITM) is a construction
technique employed to reduce the vertical pressures on
buried structures, typically resulting from the con-
struction of a high embankment fill on the structure. In
this technique, a layer of compressible material is
123
558
placed directly above the buried structure to induce
positive arching, thus reducing the vertical pressures.
This technique has been in use for almost a century and
numerous existing utility lines and conduits are
installed employing ITM. However, the reliability of
this method as a long-term, reliable and constructible
solution is being questioned. This skepticism led some
jurisdictions in North America to discontinue its use,
which is also manifested in the removal of this method
from the American Concrete Pipe Association Hand-
book (2004). However, some jurisdictions, including
the New Brunswick Department of Transportation
(NBDOT), continue to benefit from the successful use
of ITM. The NBDOT has supervised the construction
of approximately 80 induced trench installations in the
province since 1991, and recent inspections have
confirmed good performance for a period of
10–15 years (Hansen et al. 2007). Gaining a better
understanding of how the method works and devel-
oping clear design guidelines are required to address
the uncertainties associated with the empirical nature
of the design.
The current version of the Canadian Highway
Bridge Design Code (CSA 2006) and the AASHTO
load resistance factored design (LRFD) bridge design
specifications (AASHTO 2007) do not include any
clauses related to ITM. The only recommendations
regarding the culvert installations are related to
installations using the positive projection method
(PPM). The design recommendations given in these
codes for PPM include the assumptions of uniform
earth pressure on top of the culvert crown and the
uniform pressure on the bottom slab of culvert that is
equal to the sum of the crown pressure and the pressure
due to dead load of culvert. Ontario Ministry of
Transportation (MTO) has successfully implemented
the induced trench method in the past. However, the
implementation of ITM installations in MTO projects
has been terminated in recent years due to the
abovementioned uncertainties. In order to gain a
better understanding to re-introduce ITM installations
into embankment construction practice, a full scale
instrumented test embankment is constructed over a
trench in order to study various stress reduction
measures.
The objectives of this paper are to understand the
soil-structure-interaction (SSI) mechanism involved
and evaluate the stress reductions achieved by the use
of ITM installation. The stresses generated due to the
123
Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568
backfilling of trench using the conventional method
(PPM), ITM and two at-grade geogrid reinforcing
bridges with 1.5 and 3 m width are investigated as part
of the field test. The present study focuses only on the
PPM and ITM installations. The field performance of
geogrids reinforcing bridges is investigated elsewhere.
Numerical models that can simulate the complex SSI
mechanisms occurring during PPM and ITM installa-
tions are developed and verified using the experimen-
tal results. These models are then employed to
understand the stress schemes within and around the
buried structure.
The paper outlines the methodology adopted for the
full scale field tests and numerical analyses, presents
the results of field tests and numerical analyses and
provides some conclusions. It is envisioned that the
data presented in this study will serve as a validation
case for development of analytical approaches for the
evaluation of stress reduction on buried culverts
installed using ITM. Data presented in this paper also
have the potential to lead to an improved understand-
ing of SSI effects on the behavior of buried structures
in general.
2 Background
The stress reducing effects of lightweight compress-
ible materials used above buried structures has long
been recognized. Materials such as baled hay or straw,
leaves, compressible soil, or expanded polystyrene are
previously used to reduce stresses exerted on the
buried utilities. As part of ITM installation, the
compressible material placed above the buried struc-
ture experiences more settlement relative to the
surrounding soil, which results in a reverse arching
deformation. Schematic of above-mentioned mecha-
nism is depicted in Fig. 1. The relative deformation
between the soil immediately above the buried
structure and the surrounding soil may result in an
increase or decrease in the soil pressures exerted on the
structure depending on the direction of relative
settlement. If the soil above the structure settles less
than that of the adjacent soil, the shear forces exerted
on the soil column above the structure by the
surrounding soil mass results in a mechanism called
negative arching (Selig 1972; Vaslestad et al. 1993).
Negative arching increases the pressures exerted on
buried structures and it is addressed in CHBDC (2006)
Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568
Fig. 1 Schematics of The surface of embankment
positive projecting and
induced trench installation
methods (SEMB settlement of
foundation soil; SPPM
settlement of soil above the
conduit in PPM; SITM
settlement of soil above the
conduit in ITM)
SEMB SPPM
PPM
SITM > SEMB > SPPM
via the introduction of a series of vertical and
horizontal arching factors. If the settlement of the soil
above the structure is more than that of the adjacent
soil (e.g. ITM) positive arching mechanism takes
place, which reduces the soil pressures on the
structure.
Initial studies on ITM include those by Marston and
Anderson (1913), Marston (1922, 1930). Spangler
(1950a, b) and Spangler and Handy (1973) reintro-
duced this method, which is referred to as Marston and
Spangler (M-S) theory in Concrete Pipe Design
Manuals (ACPA 1980, 1998). A number of research-
ers identified various shortcomings of M-S approach
such as the effect of geometry and stiffness of the
compressible zone, the mechanical properties of the
backfill material, the shape of buried structure and the
magnitude of lateral loads (e.g. Sladen and Oswell
1988; Scario 2003; Handy 2004). Brown (1967)
presented the first study that quantified the pressure
reduction effect of the soft zone by using the finite
element method. The studies by Sladen and Oswell
(1988), Sven and Liedberg (1997) and Vaslestad
(1990) pointed out that the M-S method suffers
deficiencies and results in earth pressure estimates
that are overly conservative.
Despite the significant potential of ITM for stress
reduction, the long term performance is uncertain. The
concern regarding the long-term behavior is largely
due to the lack of reliable information on the
mechanical properties of the lightweight materials
and the optimum geometry. The American Concrete
559
Neutral plane
SEMB SITM SEMB
Compressible
Zone
Shear Forces
Ground surface
ITM
Pipe Association (ACPA) eliminated the imperfect
trench method from the 2001 edition of the Concrete
Pipe Handbook (ACPA 2001) primarily for these
reasons. However, full-scale tests, conducted on two
circular culverts and one box culvert by the Norwegian
Road Research Laboratory (Vaslestad et al. 1993)
showed that there was no increase in earth pressure
after a 3 year period. McAffee and Valsangkar (2008)
instrumented a circular induced trench culvert and
observed no load increase 2 years after the completion
of the embankment. McAffee (2005) investigated a
twin culvert installation using ITM in Baddeck, Nova
Scotia, which has performed well for over 35 years.
Hansen et al. (2007) reported that field inspection of
80 ITM installations in New Brunswick performed
favorably and satisfy the serviceability conditions. In
addition, there are a limited number of full-scale and
reduced scale physical model tests reported in the
literature on the ITMs. Kang et al. (2007a) quantita-
tively studied the parameters that influence the earth
loads in ITM. They also investigated the effect of side
fill treatment and bedding for buried concrete pipes. In
a separate parametric study, Kang et al. (2007b)
studied the influence on ITM installation on a flexible
PVC pipe.
McGuigan and Valsangkar (2010) studied the
performance of the box culverts installed using ITM
using scale physical modelling. They concluded that
the stress reductions were achieved on top, side and
bottom of the box culvert. In a recent study, McGuigan
and Valsangkar (2011) investigated the behaviour of
123
560 Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568

Table 1 List of physical model studies on ITMs

Title Type Structure tested Remarks

Vaslestad et al. Field test Box culvert 37 % reduction of the vertical stresses relative to the overburden stresses
(1993) on top of the box. No pressures on the sides and bottom are reported
Floyd and Clark Field test Box culvert No results are reported due to problems related to instrumentation
(1979)
Okabayashi et al. Centrifuge test Box culvert Recommended optimized size and location of compressible EPS layer
(1994)
MacLeod (2003) Centrifuge test Box culvert Reported 80 % reduction in vertical stress relative to the overburden
stresses on top of the culvert and a small increase in the lateral stresses
Bourque (2002) Centrifuge test Twin box Studied the effect of culvert spacing and compressible material geometry
culvert
McAffee and Field test and Single box and Reported 64–76 % reduction in vertical stress relative to the overburden
Valsangkar centrifuge test pipe culvert stresses on top of the culvert and larger lateral stresses relative to vertical
(2005) stresses
Parker et al. Field test Single pipe Reported 76 % reduction in vertical stress relative to the overburden
(2008) culvert stresses on top of the culvert and a small increase in the lateral stresses
The maximum horizontal pressure measured on the side of the culvert was
reported to be 0.45 times the overburden pressure

twin culverts installed using PPM and ITM under high
embankments using centrifuge testing and numerical
analyses. They reported significant stress reductions in
ITM case relative to PPM. The literature review shows
that a significant number of studies were performed
using field and laboratory physical tests as well as
numerical methods. These studies provided consistent
conclusions regarding the benefits of ITM. Table 1
gives a summary of some model studies on the ITM.
3 ITM Design Approaches
Two analytical design approaches used for the design
of ITM type culvert installations are summarized here.
The first method is M-S method, which is based on the
works by Marston (1922) and Spangler (1950a, b).The
second method, the Vaslestad Method, is based on the
work by Vaslestad et al. (1993).
3.1 Marston-Spangler Method (M-S Method)
ITM installations are traditionally performed by
backfilling and compacting thoroughly on both sides
and for some distance above buried pipe. Then a
trench is typically constructed in this compacted fill by
removing a prism of soil having the same width as the
conduit and refilling with very loose lightweight
materials.
A design procedure for ITM was initially developed
by Marston (1922) and improved by Spangler (1950a,
b). This design method quantifies the load on conduits
installed by ITM as follows:
W ¼ Cn c B2c ð1Þ
where, Cn is load coefficient, c is the unit weight of fill
material and Bc is the out-to-out horizontal span of the
conduit. Although graphic illustrations are provided
for the computation of coefficient, Cn, there are many
practical difficulties as the parameters used to deter-
mine the coefficient cannot be evaluated readily.
These parameters include the settlement ratio and the
height of the plane of equal settlement to be
determined by a graphical method as summarized in
Kang (2007). In order to use the M-S equation, it is
essential to determine the value of the settlement ratio,
rsd, which is defined as follows:
sg  ðsd þ sf þ dc Þ
rsd ¼ ð2Þ
sd
where, rsd is settlement ratio; sg is settlement of surface
of compacted soil; sd is compression of fill in ditch
within height; sf is the settlement of flow line of pile; dc
is deflection of conduit, i.e. shortening of its vertical
dimension; and (sd ? sf ? dc) is settlement of critical
plane. Although the settlement ratio, rsd, is a rational
quantity used in the development of the load formula,

123
Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568
it is very difficult to determine the actual value that
will be developed in a specific case. However,
Spangler and Handy (1982) presented some recom-
mended values of the settlement ratio for various
culvert types and foundation deformation characteris-
tics based on field observations on actual culverts
under embankments. Cn values may be determined
graphically using settlement ratio, rsd and projection
ratio, p0 , which is depth/width ratio of the ditch.
3.2 Vaslestad Method
The details of this method are outlined in Vaslestad
et al. (1993). In this method, the earth loads acting on
the buried culverts are calculated by applying an
arching factor to the overburden pressure. This arching
factor is based on the friction number, Sv. Vaslestad’s
equation for estimating vertical earth pressures on an
induced trench culvert is given as follows;
rv ¼ NA cH ð3Þ
2Sv HB
1e
NA ¼ ð4Þ
2Sv HB
where, NA is arching factor; Sv is Janbu’s friction
number; B is width of culvert, and H is the height of fill
above the culvert.
4 Methodology
This study comprises full scale model tests and
numerical analyses for culvert installation using the
PPM and ITM. This section outlines the methodology
adopted for field testing and numerical modeling.
4.1 Description of Field Tests
4.1.1 Test Embankment Geometry
An instrumented test embankment is constructed over a
3 m deep trench to study the stress reductions that can be
achieved by means of ITM installations under embank-
ment loadings. The test embankment is constructed as
part of Highway 407 contract and is located near the
Highway 407 and Weston Road in Vaughan, Ontario.
Since the objective of the testing program is to evaluate
the stresses reductions achieved by means of ITM
installation, no actual culverts are installed. Instead, the
561
earth pressure cells are placed in granular protective
surrounds located at two different depths in the trench.
The test embankment comprises four distinct sec-
tions. The first section is constructed as a conventional
control section (Sect. 1), which includes an instru-
mented trench that is conventionally backfilled with
granular material up to the grade level (PPM). The
second section represents an ITM installation (Sect. 2),
which includes an instrumented trench backfilled with
granular material that is overlain by a layer of
compressible Styrofoam chips up to the grade level.
The third and fourth sections include geogrid void
bridges installed on the instrumented trenches with
different trench widths. The evaluation of the third and
fourth sections is performed as part of a separate study
and is beyond the scope of the present work.
The layout of test embankment is depicted in Fig. 2.
Test configuration comprises a 3 m deep trench back-
filled up to the grade level, which underlies an
embankment with the footprint dimension of
64 m 9 34 m in length and width and a height of
6 m. The slopes of the embankment are constructed with
a 2H:1 V inclination. Figure 3a, b show the details of
instrumented trenches for Sects. 1 and 2, respectively.
4.1.2 Construction and Instrumentation
The site is leveled and topsoil is removed prior to the
construction of test embankment. A 1.5 m wide trench
is excavated to a depth of 3 m. At a level 1 m above the
bottom of trench, trench slopes are cut to 1H:1V to
maintain the integrity of trench side slopes during the
construction (see Fig. 3). Two drainage sumps are
installed at each end to maintain a dry condition in the
trench. The base of the trench is filled with a 300 mm
thick compacted granular pad comprising Granular-A
(OPSS 314). The earth pressure cells are then installed.
The earth pressure cells with vibrating wire pressure
transducers are used. The earth pressure transducers
are placed at the bottom (3 m from the grade) and the
mid-height (1.5 m from grade) of the trench with
horizontal and vertical orientations in order to allow
measurement of vertical and horizontal pressures,
respectively. The pressure transducers are placed
within a 0.5 m 9 1 m 9 1 m granular protective
surrounds. The granular surrounds are constructed as
lightly compacted at mid-height pressure cell and well
compacted at the bottom pressure cell to see the effect
of the surround compaction on the measured stresses.
123
562
Fig. 2 Plan and profile of test embankment
(a)
Fig. 3 Trench cross-sections for Sects. 1 (PPM) and 2 (ITM)
The protective surrounds, which are constructed to
eliminate any possible damage to the pressure cells, are
constructed using steel separators in four sides. The
steel separators separate the lightly compacted and
well compacted granular surrounds from compacted
123
Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568
(b)
Granular-A, which constitutes the rest of the fill
material in the trench. The steel separators are removed
as the level of granular surrounds reached 0.5 m height.
A total of 2 transducer couples (vertical and horizontal)
are installed at the bottom and mid-height of each
Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568
trench for each section and an additional transducer is
installed at the interface between trench backfill and
embankment. The trench backfill encapsulating gran-
ular surrounds, comprise Granular A compacted to
95 % of Standard Proctor Dry Density. The pneumatic
lines are extended through a PVC pipe, which followed
the edges of trench and connected to a monitoring
station.
The embankment is constructed using native cohe-
sive soils in the area. The soil is placed in lifts of
300 mm and compacted to 95 % of Standard Proctor
Dry Density. The portion of the embankment fill
immediately above the trench is placed manually and
compacted by self propelled compaction equipment
(Bomag BW65S). The embankment fill, including the
zone above the trench, is compacted using regular
compaction equipment after its height reached 1.3 m.
4.2 Description of Numerical Model
4.2.1 Numerical Modeling and Boundary Conditions
Numerical analyses of the test embankment are
performed using the finite difference software, FLAC
(Itasca 2005). Two sets of numerical models are
developed to analyze stresses generated in cases of
PPM installation and ITM installation. An elastic–
plastic soil model with Mohr–Coulomb failure crite-
rion is used to simulate the soil behavior during the full
scale field test due to the simplicity of the model and
availability of model parameters.
The strength parameters are determined from a
geotechnical investigation conducted prior to the
construction of test embankment. However, no direct
determination for the stiffness properties of soil is
performed. Thus, elastic moduli for various soils are
determined based on experience and calibrated con-
sidering the deformation of embankment. The stresses
within the trench are affected by the stiffness of the
granular fill. Thus, the hyperbolic Duncan-Chang
model (Duncan and Chang 1970) is used to model the
stress dependant variation of stiffness of the fill
materials within the trench. The mechanical behavior
of the compressible lightweight fill (styrofoam chips)
is modeled using a linear elastic material model.
There are two general categories of stiffness and/or
compressibility models for soils (Kim and Yoo 2005).
The models presented by Hardin (1971) and Duncan
and Chang (1970) are based on constant confining
563
pressure triaxial tests. The other category includes
models that are based on uniaxial strain confined
compression tests such as the model by Katona et al.
(1976). Duncan-Chang model used in this study is
based on the work by Duncan and Chang (1970), who
expanded the Kondner (1963)’s basic hyperbolic
stress–strain relationship to derive the tangent modu-
lus of elasticity as follows:
   
r3 n Rf ð1  sin /Þðr1  r3 Þ 2
Et ¼ Ke Patm 1
Patm 2c cos / þ 2r3 sin /
ð5Þ
where Et tangent elastic modulus, r1 and r2 maximum
and minimum stresses, / angle of internal friction; c
cohesion, Rf failure ratio, Ke modulus number, Patm
atmospheric pressure, and n modulus exponent.
Tangential bulk modulus and tangential Poisson’s
ratio are expressed as follows:
 
r3 m
Bt ¼ Kb Patm ð6Þ
Patm
 
1 Et
mt ¼ 1 ð7Þ
2 3Bt
where, Bt tangential bulk modulus, vt tangential
Poisson’s ratio, Kb bulk modulus number, m bulk
modulus exponent.
A plane-strain model is considered to be applicable
to the analysis of test embankment and is used in this
study. A fully fixed boundary condition was applied at
the base of the models. The lateral extend of the models
is positioned such that a distance equal to five times of
embankment width is maintained between the toe of
the embankment and the external boundaries of the soil
domain. The boundaries are assumed to be free in the
vertical direction and fixed in the horizontal direction.
4.2.2 Subsurface Conditions and Material Properties
The subsurface conditions are determined using three
boreholes drilled within the footprint of embankment.
The soil stratigraphy comprises two layers: Layer 1 is
clayey-silt-till/silty-clay-till and extends from the
ground surface to a depth of 10 m; Layer 2 is silt/
silty-clay which extends to a depth of 20 m. The
embankment is constructed using native clayey silt-
till/silty-clay-till material. Table 2 summarizes the
mechanical properties of foundation soils, embank-
ment fill and the materials that comprise the trench fill.
123
564 Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568

Table 2 Material properties assumed for field test and parametric analysis
Elastic Ke n Rf Internal friction Unit weight Poisson’s ratio
modulus (kPa) angle () (kN/m3)

Layer 1 130,000 – – – 40 22 0.35

Layer 2 160,000 – – – 42 22 0.35
Embankment fill 95,000 – – – 33 20 0.35
Styrofoam chipsa 700 – – – N/A 6.4 0.05
Lightly compacted surround – 400 0.5 0.9 33 18 0.3
Well compacted surround – 850 0.5 0.6 35 18 0.3
Granular trench fill – 950 0.5 0.6 36 20 0.3
a
Linear elastic material behavior is assumed

5 Results and Discussion influence of the installation method on the stresses

The results of the field test are presented here along
with the results of the numerical analyses. The
objective of the numerical analyses performed in this
study is to investigate the trends of stress variations
measured during the field tests using the estimated soil
properties. The accuracy of the numerical analyses is
subjected to realistic material property assumptions.
Thus, the results of the numerical models were
calibrated against the actual settlement plate readings
collected before and after the construction of test
embankment. Table 3 summarizes the settlement
monitoring results along with the vertical deforma-
tions estimated using finite element model at these
locations. The comparisons of the measured and
calculated stresses for PPM and ITM installations
show that despite local differences in the magnitudes
of stresses, the similar trends of stresses are captured
using the material properties outlined in Table 2. The
complex geometry of embankment-trench system and
the use of material with different stiffness values
around the load cells make the stress regime within the
trench very complex both in field test and numerical
analyses. Thus, the main objective is to show the
occurring in a trench, rather than presenting a realistic
stress values that may occur in a conduit installation.
The results of instrumented field test are summa-
rized in this section along with the accompanying
numerical results. Figure 4 shows the variation of
vertical stresses measured at the foundation-embank-
ment interface (cell 5) with the embankment height.
Vertical stresses depicted in Fig. 4 show a typical
increase that is linearly proportional to depth of
embankment.
5.1 Stresses Measured at Mid-height of the Trench
(1.5 m)
The measured stresses at a depth of 1.5 m in the trench
(cells 1, 2, 6 and 7) and the stresses calculated using
FLAC are shown in Figs. 5 and 6 for the vertical and
horizontal directions, respectively. The results indi-
cate that there is a reasonable agreement between the
measured and calculated vertical and horizontal
stresses. The results shown in Fig. 5 indicate that the
vertical stresses increased as the embankment height is
increased. This increase ranges from 32 to 76 kPa for
PPM installation and from 20 to 40 kPa for ITM

Table 3 Measured and

North mid-slope North crest Center South crest South mid-
calculated deformations
(Point 1) (Point 2) (Point 3) (Point 4) slope (Point 5)

Field measurement
Baseline reading (m) 81.560 85.590 85.771 85.830 81.800
Final reading (m) 81.555 85.580 85.755 85.820 81.795
Deformation (mm) 5 10 16 10 5
Finite element 6 10 15 10 6
model results

123
Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568 565

Fig. 5 Measured and calculated vertical stress at 1.5 m depth

Fig. 4 Vertical stress measured at the foundation-embankment
in trench (Cells 2 and 7)
interface

installation for embankment heights of 0 and 6 m,

respectively. The results indicate that 47 % reduction
in vertical stresses is achieved by the use of ITM
installation when the full embankment height is
accomplished.
The horizontal stress showed an inverse trend. The
results shown in Fig. 6 indicate that the increased
embankment height increased the horizontal stresses
from 10 to 27 kPa for PPM installation and from 25 to
31 kPa for ITM installation. The results indicate that
the use of ITM installation increased the horizontal
stresses relative to those generated by the PPM
installation. This increase is as high as 2.5 times at
the start of embankment construction. However, the
difference diminished as the embankment height
increased. The increase of horizontal stresses in ITM
case is attributed to the arching of stresses around the
compressible zone. Similar observations were made
by several researchers (Kang et al. 2007a, b; McGu-
igan and Valsangkar 2010, 2011).
The results also show that both vertical and Fig. 6 Measured and calculated horizontal stresses at 1.5 m
horizontal stresses measured/calculated at this depth depth in trench (Cells 1 and 6)

123
566
monitoring point are substantially lower than the
values one would practically approximate using the
depth of overburden and the unit weigh of material.
Such reduction is caused by lightly compacted
uniform granular surround, which has a substantially
lower stiffness that reduced the magnitude of both
vertical and horizontal stresses.
5.2 Stresses Measured at the Bottom of the Trench
(3 m)
The measured stresses at 3 m depth in the trench (cells
3, 4, 8 and 9) and the corresponding value calculated
from the numerical analysis are shown in Figs. 7 and 8
for vertical and horizontal directions, respectively.
The magnitudes of stresses at this depth are influenced
not only by the installation method (i.e. the existence
of compressible zone in ITM) but also the stress
arching caused by the lightly compacted fill above this
location. The measured and calculated stresses (both
vertical and horizontal) show a reasonable agreement
at this depth as well. The results shown in Fig. 7
indicate that the measured vertical stresses increased
Fig. 7 Measured and calculated vertical stresses at 3 m depth
in trench (Cells 4 and 9)
123
Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568
as the embankment height is increased. This increase
ranges from 70 to 140 kPa for PPM installation and
from 50 to 105 kPa for ITM installation for embank-
ment heights of 0 and 6 m, respectively. The results
indicate that 25 % reduction in vertical stresses is
achieved by the use of ITM installation when the full
embankment height is achieved.
The results shown in Fig. 8 indicate that the
increased embankment height resulted in higher
horizontal stresses, which increased from 14 to
32 kPa for PPM installation and from 22 to 38 kPa
for ITM installation. The results show that the use of
ITM installation resulted in an increase in the
horizontal stresses relative to those generated by the
use of PPM installation. This increase is as high as
60 % at the start of embankment construction. How-
ever, similar to the stresses at 1.5 m depth, the
difference diminished as the embankment height
increased. There is a sudden reduction of the stresses
in the field measurements of ITM case when the
embankment height reached around 3 m (mid-height).
This reduction, which is recovered as the embankment
height increased, may be attributed to a reading error.
Fig. 8 Measured and calculated horizontal stresses at 3 m
depth in trench (Cells 3 and 8)
Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568
It should also be noted that the difference between
the horizontal stresses occurred at PPM and ITM cases
is not as pronounced at this depth, possibly due to the
higher stiffness of well compacted granular surround.
6 Summary and Conclusions
A full scale instrumented test embankment is con-
structed by Ontario Ministry of Transportation in order
to study the effects of embankment construction on the
existing underground utilities. The test embankment
comprised four sections, which facilitated the evalu-
ation of four different configurations including the
conventional backfill, induced trenching and two at-
grade geogrid reinforcing bridging with different
spans. Each configuration consisted of a 3 m deep
trench underneath a 10 m wide, 10 m long and 6 m
high embankment section. Earth pressure cells were
installed to monitor stresses at the fill/ground interface
and at the depths of 1.5 and 3 m. A numerical model of
the full scale instrumented test embankment is devel-
oped using the finite difference program FLAC. The
numerical model incorporated the measured and
estimated material properties of the induced trench,
and was utilized to analyze the stress conditions within
and around the trench, and to further understand the
trends of changes in stresses as a result of installation
methods. This paper presents the results of stress
measurements in a utility trench overlain by an
embankment. The measurements that were obtained
both during and after construction of the full-scale test
embankment were compared with the results of the
numerical model, which helped clarify mechanisms of
stress reduction.
The following is a summary of the results and
conclusions arising from this study:
• The vertical and horizontal stresses at trench
depths of 1.5 and 3 m increased with increasing
embankment height.
• When full embankment depth was reached, use of
ITM resulted in a 47 % reduction in vertical
stresses at 1.5 m depth relative to the vertical
stresses resulting from PPM installation. This
reduction remained at 25 % at 3 m depth.
• The use of ITM installation method resulted in an
increase in horizontal stresses relative to the
horizontal stresses resulting from the use of PPM
567
installation. The difference between horizontal
stresses resulting from PPM and ITM were highest
at lower embankment height and diminishes as the
embankment height increases. This difference was
more pronounced at 1.5 m then it was at 3 m,
largely due to the lower stiffness of the surround
material.
• It is noted that the stiffness of the granular
surround has a significant impact on both vertical
and horizontal stresses. The lightly compacted
granular surround encapsulating the load cell at
1.5 m had a smaller value of stiffness, which
resulted in significant reductions in both vertical
and horizontal stresses. Thus, it is anticipated that a
lightly compacted backfill encapsulating the cul-
verts may result in such reduction.
Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge the valuable
contributions by the reviewers and the support provided by the
Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Material Engineering and
Research Office.
References
AASHTO (2007) LRFD bridge design specifications, 4th edn.
American Association of State Highway and Transporta-
tion Officials, Washington, DC
ACPA (1980) ACPA concrete pipe handbook. American Con-
crete Pipe Association, Vienna, VA
ACPA (1998) ACPA concrete pipe handbook. American Con-
crete Pipe Association, Irving, TX
ACPA (2001) ACPA concrete pipe handbook. American Con-
crete Pipe Association, Vienna, VA
ACPA (2004) ACPA concrete pipe handbook. American Con-
crete Pipe Association, Vienna, VA
Bourque S (2002) Centrifuge and numerical modeling of
induced trench twin conduits. M.Sc.E. thesis, University of
New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB
Brown CB (1967) Forces on rigid culverts under high fills.
J Struct Div ASCE 93(5):195–215
Canadian Standards Association (2006) Canadian highway
bridge design code. CSA-S6-06
Duncan JM, Chang CY (1970) Nonlinear analysis of stress and
strain on soils. J Soil Mech Found Div 96(5):1629–1653
Floyd KJ, Clark RE (1979) Construction and instrumentation of
induced experiment under high fill. State of Illinois
Department of Transportation, Springfield, Il. Interim
report IHD-19
Handy RL (2004) Anatomy of an error. J Geotech Geoenviron
Eng (ASCE) 130(7):768–771
Hansen P, Miller L, Valsangkar AJ, Bourque S, MacLeod T
(2007) Performance of induced trench culverts in New
Brunswick. In: Proceedings of the annual conference of the
Transportation Association of Canada, Saskatoon, Sask.,
123
568
14–17 Oct 2007. Transportation Association of Canada,
Ottawa, Ont
Hardin BO (1971) Characterization and use of shear stress-strain
relations for airfield subgrade and base course material.
AFN-TR-71-60, Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Kirkland
AFB, NM
Itasca Consulting Group (2005) FLAC, Fast Lagrangian anal-
ysis of continua, Version 5.0, Itasca Consulting Group,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Kang J (2007) Soil-structure-interaction and imperfect trench
installation applied to deeply buried conduits. PhD thesis,
Auburn University, Auburn AL, USA
Kang J, Parker F, Yoo C (2007a) Soil-structure interaction and
imperfect trench installations for deeply buried concrete
pipes.’’. J Geotech Geo-environ Eng ASCE
133(3):277–285
Kang J, Parker F, Yoo C (2007b) Soil-structure interaction and
imperfect trench installations for deeply buried corrugated
PVC pipes. Transp Res Rec TRB 2028:192–202
Katona MG, Smith JM, Odello RS, Allgood JR (1976)
CANDE—a modern approach for the structural design and
analysis of buried culverts. FHWA-RD-77-5, Federal
Highway Administration, Turner-Fairbank Highway
Research Center, McLean, Va
Kim K, Yoo CH (2005) Design loading on deeply buried box
culverts. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 131:20
Kondner RL (1963) Hyperbolic stress–strain response: cohesive
soils. J Soil Mech Found Div ASCE 98(1):115–143
MacLeod T (2003) Earth pressures on induced trench conduits.
M.Sc.E. thesis, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton,
NB
Marston A (1922) Second progress report to the joint concrete
culvert pipe committee. Iowa Engineering Experimental
Station, Ames, IA
Marston A (1930) The theory of external loads on closed con-
duits in the light of the latest experiments. Bulletin 96.
Iowa Engineering Experiment Station, Ames, IA
Marston A, Anderson AO (1913) The theory of loads on pipes in
ditches and tests of cement and clay drain tile and sewer
pipe. Bulletin 31. Iowa Engineering Experiment Station,
Iowa State College, Ames, IA
McAffee RP (2005) Soil-structure interaction in rigid culverts
installed in induced trenches. Ph.D. thesis, University of
New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB
McAffee RP, Valsangkar AJ (2005) Performance of an induced
trench installation. Transp Res Rec 1936(1):230–237
123
Geotech Geol Eng (2013) 31:557–568
McAffee RP, Valsangkar AJ (2008) Field performance, centri-
fuge testing, and numerical modelling of an induced trench
installation. Can Geotech J 45:85–101
McGuigan BL, Valsangkar AJ (2010) Centrifuge testing and
numerical analysis of box culverts installed in induced
trenches. Can Geotech J 47(2):147–163
McGuigan BL, Valsangkar AJ (2011) Earth pressures on twin
positive projecting and induced trench box culverts under
high embankments. Can Geotech J 48(2):173–185
Okabayashi K, Ohtani W, Akiyama K, Kawamura M (1994)
Centrifugal model test for reducing the earth pressure on
the culvert by using the flexible material. In: Proceedings
of the 4th international offshore and polar engineering
conference, Osaka, Japan, 10–15 April 1994. International
Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers, Cupertino, Calif.
pp 620–624
Parker BA, McAffee RP, Valsangkar AJ (2008) Field perfor-
mance and analysis of 3-m-diameter induced trench culvert
under a 19.4-m soil cover. Transp Res Rec 2045(08):68–76
Scario JH (2003) Reappraisal of Marton’s formula. J Transp Eng
(ASCE) 129(6):703–712
Sladen JA, Oswell JM (1988) The induced trench method—a
critical review and case history. Can Geotech J 25:541–549
Spangler MG (1950a) A theory of loads on negative projecting
conduits. Proceedings of the Highway Research Board, 30,
Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC,
pp 153–161
Spangler MG (1950b) Field measurements of the settlement
ratios of various highway culverts, Bulletin 171. Iowa
Engineering Experiment Station, Ames, IA
Spangler MG, Handy RL (1973) Loads on underground con-
duits, soil engineering, 3rd edn. Harper Collins, New York,
pp 658–686
Spangler MG, Handy RL (1982) Soil engineering, 4th edn.
Harper and Row, New York
Sven N, Liedberg D (1997) Load reduction on a rigid pipe pilot
study of a soft cushion. Transp Res Rec 1594:217–223
Vaslestad J (1990) Soil structure interaction of buried culverts.
PhD thesis, The Norwegian Institute of Technology,
Norway
Vaslestad J, Johansen TH, Holm W (1993) Load reduction on
rigid culverts beneath high fills: long-term behavior.
Transportation Research Record, 1415, Transportation
Research Board, Washington, DC, pp 58–68