HORIZONTAL EARTH PRESSURES ON BOX CULVERTS, ABUTMENTS AND WALLS DUE TO WHEEL LOADS

This paper presents a more fundamental understanding of the nature of live load induced horizontal earth pressure and its interaction with earth pressures caused by fill and compaction. 'Live load surcharge' horizontal earth pressure is shown to be the cumulative and residual resultant of priors loading history, including loading during construction. Consequently, live load induced horizontal earth pressure can exist without concurrent loading by traffic wheel loads. This is in marked contrast to the traditional treatment of live loads in structural design codes. This new concept has considerable implications for the design and construction of box culverts, abutments, and retaining walls. Design expressions are given for the horizontal pressure due to the AUSTROADS T44 Truck Loading and the Heavy Load Platforms.