Behaviour of soil-steel composite structures during construction and service: a review

In this paper, existing knowledge on the behaviour of soil-steel composite structures (SSCSs) has been reviewed. In particular, the response of buried corrugated steel plates (CSPs) to static, semi static, and dynamic loads has been covered. Furthermore, the performance of SSCS under extreme loading, i.e., loading until failure, has been studied. To investigate the behaviour of the type of composite structures considered, numerous full-scale tests and numerical simulations have been conducted for both arched and box shapes of the shell. In addition, researchers have examined different span lengths and cover depths. Furthermore, to enhance the load-bearing capacity of the composite structures, various stiffening elements have been applied and tested. The review shows that the mechanical features of SSCSs are mainly based on the interaction of the shell with the soil backfill. The structures, as a composite system, become appropriately stiff when completely backfilled. For this reason, the construction phase corresponds to the highest values of shell displacement and stress. Moreover, the method of laying and compacting the backfill, as well as the thickness of the cover, has a significant impact on the behaviour of the structure at the stage of operation in both the quantitative and qualitative sense. Finally, a limited number of studies are conducted on the ultimate bearing capacity of large-span SSCS and various reinforcing methods. Considerably more works will need to be done on this topic. It applies to both full scale tests and numerical analysis.