Reinforcement for Box Culvert through RCC diversion dam. How 2 design?

[coloradobound]

Interesting design for me. I'm a civil engineer but structures are not my strong point. The diversion dam will be used to divert water into a supply canal for a reservoir from a small river/stream. The inlet to it is adjacent to the diversion dam. There will be box culvert through the dam for higher flows. Now, how to design the precast or cast in place box culvert sections. Loadings, take the wet cement during construction as a "soil loading" with vehicle traffic during construction. Or design for the cured concrete (the loadings should be less since the cured concrete acts as a uniform body and wont put that much loading on the culvert, correct) and possibly brace the inside of the culvert somehow during construction and remove bracing when done to avoid an over engineering of the box culvert when designing for construction loads vs. cured dam loadings.

If braced during construction, how would you do the bracing. I've researched this and have had no luck and structures are not my strong point and the firm has no structural engineers.

Oh, and we also tend to use the program BOXCAR for the more common placings like just under railroads or just soil loadings.

 

[tincan]

For cast in place, you should have on loadings until the box has cured. Allow no traffic or loading until cured. Once cured you will have the normal dl, ll, i. If you have a high fill, check for both "at-grade" construction loading and finished loadings.
Pre cast you would check for the normal dead load, live load, impact, etc.
Best, Tincan

 

[flamby]

Since the whole thing is anyway going to be burried in concrete, you can use high concrete thicknesses and it still would be acceptable. You can design it for the weight of wet concrete and also for the water-head corresponding to the full reservoir level after dam gets commissioned.

G'luck.