Culverts are civil engineering structures used to allow water to pass under roads or embankments. There are several types of culverts including round concrete tubes, rectangular precast concrete elements, and metal culverts. Culverts require appropriate foundations depending on the material and site conditions, including shallow foundations, foundations on improved soil, or foundations on wooden or concrete poles. Culvert endings can have various shapes like long front walls, receding wings, or return walls to connect to surrounding terrain.

1. Culverts / Duikers
Learning goals on the VLD
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2. Definition Civil Engineering work for the passage
of water. Sometimes lockable, for example related
to safety.
Top view
Longitudal sectionCulvert between two waters
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3. Types and Materials
Tubes of concrete, reinforced concrete or
pretensioned concrete
Rectangular culvert element In situ poured concrete
Steel sheet piling Section corrugated
sheeting
Side view
Masonry
Tube, NEN 7031
Mouth-profile,
Fiber reinforced cement tube,
glasfiberreinforced polyesther tube
Oversight of the most important culvert forms and materials
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4. Round concrete tubes with socket and
wedge
• Reinforced
• Not reinforced
Working length
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5. Socket and wedge connection
thickening
Wedge WedgeSocket Socket
Groove in wedge
Rolling connection with an unprofiled wedge Sliding connection of a tube with a profiled wedge
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6. Round tubes
www.dehamer.nl
www.wacolingen.nl
Dimensions Mass
Working length
Reinforced and non-reinforced Waco SW-tubes
1

7. Shallow foundation
(fundering op staal)
(foundation on sand / gravel)
Bottom of trench free
of rocks
Shallow foundation
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8. Laying of tubes
Tube horizontally !
Lifting sling
Rubber ring
Shallow foundation
Deepen trench bottom at
location of socket
Pull in with winch or tirfor (handwinch)
Push in with shovel
Working direction
1

9. Foundation on improved soil
Grondverbetering
Carrying layer
Dig out and fill in with sand
Foundation on improved soil
1

10. Foundation on grating
Roosterwerk
Bolt for wood
Ongoing girder (carrying in longitudal direction)
Girder (carrying in cross direction)
Block (between tubeside and ongoing girder)
Foundation on grating
1

11. Foundation on poles with girder
Block; wedge formed
Girder
Large bolt
Poles
2 layers of ruberoid between tubeside and block
Hollows block
Bolt, head in wood on topside
Foundation on poles with hollows blocks (carrying in cross direction)
1

12. Foundation on poles with
wooden girders and purlins
Block
Carrying girder
Purlin at the location of the sockets
Tubesides free of blocks!
Foundation on poles (carrying cross- and longitudally)
1

13. Foundation on poles with
wooden girders and purlins
carrying girder
long (length)
Girder
Slanting (interface carrying
wood/ tube)
Block connection by means
of 2 bolts for wood
Purlin Poles
long (length)
Foundation of a culvert of round concrete tubes
1

14. Rectangular culvert elements
Loose placed elements
Void for longitudal
coupling
Mutually coupled elements
Void for
aftertensioning
After tensioned elements
Void for
aftertensioning
Double culvert elements Hanging culvert elements
Foundation
on poles
In situ poured concrete slab
Working layer
Portal culvert elements
Oversight of prefab rectangular culvert elements1

15. Foundation on sand
prefab starting beam
Shallow foundation
with prefab starting
beams1

16. Shallow foundation on improved soil
Sand-cement
stabilisation
dig out and refill with
sand, compress!
Foundation on improved soil with a sand-cement
stabilisation1

17. Foundation on grating
Girder
Cross girder
Deflection
Foundation on grating
1

18. Foundation on concrete slab
Concrete slab
Deflection
Girder
Foundation on a concrete slab
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19. Foundation on wooden poles
Longitudal
Girder
Cross
girder
Foundation on wooden poles
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20. Foundation on concrete poles
Imposition
In situ poured concrete
(longitudal girder)Punch slab
Cable canal
Concrete pole
Hanging culvert1

21. Tensioned culverts
Without tensioning
With tensioning
Tensioning force
Traffic weight1

22. Rectangular culverts with interlocking
Coupling canal
Lifting hole
Interlocking ends
Large bolt
Poles
Girder
Carrying wood
100x180
Detail interlocking connection
Wedge type end
Socket type end
Filler
Taping
Mass of cross section of the culvert element 4350 kg;
scale 1:40
1

23. Rectangular culverts with socket
and wedge
Rubber profile (glued)
wedge socket
Closed connection
1

24. Double culvert
After tensioned culvert
with double rectangular
tubes1

25. Hanging culvert
Imposition on fur felt
Longitudal tensioning/cable void
punch- or
passage slab
longitudal girder
(poured in situ)
poles (reinforced
concrete)
1

26. Portal culverts
Lifting facility
Levelling floor
(poured in situ)
Working layer
View Section
Mass of element
Detail interlocking
element
Fill joint with sand-cement
Outside measurement
Taping
Culvert build of (reversed) U-shaped elements1

27. Pushing through of culverts
Pressure frame
Culvert elements
Pressure spreading HE-profiles
Jack beam
Jacks
Oil pressure tube
Support frame for
jacks
Support of conduit
Conduit beam
Heavy wooden slabs
Soil reversal construction Steel sheet piling (dead weight)
Cutting head
Principle of a push through facility1

28. Pulled through culverts
jacks
Culvert elements R3
Steel frame
Steel level
frame
Steel cutting headPull bars
Pressure girders
Steel sheet piling (dead weight)
Level
beams
Pressure
frame
Principle of the construction of a pulled through culvert
1

29. Special facility
Iron cast pit top with
cover
Cone piece
Top piece
Void in culvert
element
Other facilities:
- reinforcement ends
- screw shells
- various concrete socket
connections
- anchor rails
- rubber bands for joints
- pvc connections
Special facilities in a culvert element
Socket connection for
round tubes
1

30. Trash Rack
Screw shell for a M10 bolt
Screw shell for a M10 bolt
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31. Under - and
around
seepage
(underwashing)
New culvert
After some time
Sheet piling1

32. Connection with metal sheeting
Reminder: slab
reinforcement is not drawn
Sheet pilingWorking layer
With bitumen impregnated sheet of
cork, width 350
Connection of steel sheeting with a construction on a shallow foundation1

33. Endings: Long front walls
Culvert with long front walls
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34. Endings: receding wings
Culvert with receding wings
1

35. Endings: receding wings and
return walls
Culvert with receding wings and return walls
1

36. Duikersluis
Impregnated
sharp pointed
poles, length
1600
Deposit on
geo textile
Concrete blocks
400/400/150
On coarse gravel
Bitumen joint sheet
Surrounds of hatch
Top view and
horizontal cross
section at level 0
INSIDE
OUTSIDE
Groove for a level scale
Climbing irons
Beam slots
Level
Longitudal section
Cork slab thick 40
CULVERT SLUICE
SCALE1

37. Culvert with sluice
Drawing scale
Opened up drawing of the culvert sluice of the previous slide1

38. Culvert made of metal sheeting
Cross section
Front view without
earthing
Front view with
earthing
Railing is not drawn
Impregnated sharp
pointed poles
1

39. Culvert
made of
metal
sheeting
Top view with earthing Top view without earthing
Punch slabs
Ramming plan steel
sheet piling
Steel sheet piling
Longitudal section
Concrete blocks on gravel Rubble (broken
concrete and
masonry) on
polyetheen
fabric1

40. Culvert of corrugated steel tubes
“Armco” culvert
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41. Culvert made of masonry
Special layer
Segment curve
Plasteredsides
poles
girders
flooring
Sliding woods
Bottom levelled Bottom curved
Cross section of a culvert made of masonry
1

42. Floating
Steel works to be
galvanized
Side view
bolt
nut
1

43. Floating
(aggravated tubes)
Concrete tubes
1

44. Floating
“concrete” anchors Anchor blocks
“concrete” anchors Prefab anchor
block
Tensioning rods
Tensioning rods
Polyetheen
plating1

45. Dilatation joints
Dilatation joint width 300
Culvert floor slabSealer or glue
Bitumen joint sheeting
or EPS
2xbituminateShallow foundation
Foundation on poles
2xbituminate
Bitumen joint sheeting
or EPS
Culvert floor slab
Dilatation joints with sealed joints1

46. Receiving- and gravel beds
Ground water level
fall
Dumping bed Receiving bed
General: σsoil = σgrain + σwater
Ground level
Ground water level
Water over pressure
turbulence
excavation
Scheme of weights/pressures working on the bottom defence1

47. Receiving- and gravel beds
rubble (broken concrete/ broken masonry)
or broken natural stone dump
Rubble or natural stone dump
Willow branches
planks
clay
poles
long
Situational a synthetic
fabric
sand
Azobe (tropical wood) twined mat
Concrete layer Broken natural stone dump
Sand or clay Sand or clay
planks
poles
long
Variant: row of closely
rowed poles
Doubled layer
Nicolon polyetheen fabric thick
0,6 mmm
1

48. Receiving- and gravel bedsConcrete blocks
gravel
clay
Stone masonry
Rubble dump (filling layers)
Layed layers
Sand or clay
Sheeting thick 72 long 2000
Creosoted pine
Sheeting thick 72 long 2300
Reinforced concrete
Azobe sheeting
Stone masonry
Rubble dump
Reed on 0,3 m clay
Willow branches
sand
sheeting
sand
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49. Prefab or in situ poured concrete?
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