Abstract: Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the displacement of the lateral walls, the stresses of the arching crown and the block pulp layer by means of simplified load method. The soilstructure interaction aspects of this prefabricated and assembled arch culvert are also investigated. The impact of the elastic modulus of the embankment soils on the displacement and stress characteristics of the arch culvert are also simulated. The results indicate that: the displacement and the stresses obtained by the simplified load method and the method considering the soilstructure interaction by finite element analysis do not have a significant difference. The results also show that the displacements and the stresses of all culvert elements are within the code requirements for the structural safety. From the soilstructure interaction analyses, the results of displacement and stress are not sensitive to the elastic modulus of the embankment soils. They are more sensitive to the Poisson's ratio.

Key words: Highway in Mountainous Area, Arch Culverts, Displacement, Stress, Numerical Simulations