A novel concept in the manufacture of corrugated steel structural plate pipe is the slotted joint. This mechanism allows mating plates to slip over one another by a predetermined amount. The resultant ring shortening has several implications for the installed pipe. The primary benefit is a reduction in the soil pressure acting on the pipe.
This project investigated the response of the installed slotted joint, structural plate corrugated steel pipe by means of the finite element method. A simplified solution for the design of slotted joint corrugated steel structural plate pipe was developed and verified through comparisons with the finite element results.