In the design of the RCBCs, these are the provisions that was considered

Earth Pressure
Vertical Earth Pressure
Provisions on Article 12.11.2.2.1 was used. In this provision, not only the loads above the
culvert was considered, but also the adjacent regions slightly outside the span of the culvert
based on the soil-structure interaction factor stated in the article. The walls of the culvert are
assumed to be frictionless, so no vertical component of the earth horizontal resultant force was
considered.

Lateral Earth Pressure

The equivalent fluid method is used in calculating this load. As a common practice, the
maximum equivalent fluid unit weight used based on at rest pressure is 9.40 kN/m 3. For the
minimum equivalent fluid unit weight, the condition of submerged soil pressure is applied and
taken as one-half of the maximum equivalent unit weight or 4.70 kN/m 3.
Live Load Surcharge
Since vehicular load is expected to act on the surface of the backfill, live load surcharge was
applied by following the provision on article 3.11.6.4. A trapezoidal pressure distribution is
assumed with the maximum lateral live load surcharge at the top of the culvert and the
minimum surcharge at the bottom. It is only applied on one wall of the culvert, and for
simplification of the analysis, an equal and opposite reaction was applied to the other wall.
Water Load
Water load was also considered with two conditions: first, when culvert reached its maximum
water level and second, when the culvert is empty.

Design Vehicular Live Load

The design live loads applied to the top slabs of culvert includes the HL-93 truck, tandem loads
and a permit design load (CALTRANS P7).

In applying these
vehicular loads, the following were considered:
Tire Contact Area
Multiple Presence Factor
The culvert was designed for a single loaded lane with a multiple presence factor of 1.2 as
suggested in article C12.11.2.1