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Application Considerations

Bare galvanized steel is suitable for most culvert applications, as long as the waterside and soil-side chemical and physical conditions are within an acceptable range. That is, the local conditions must not be excessively acidic or basic. When more severe corrosive environments are encountered, protective coatings that provide additional corrosion resistance such as polymeric films can be applied over the galvanized surface to attain the desired service life.

Many studies have been conducted through the years to assess the performance of galvanized culvert piping. These studies confirm that galvanized culvert sheet performs exceptionally well in a variety of soil and water environments throughout the United States.

Coating Thickness
U.S. Steel Culvert Sheet is produced with a standard coating weight of 2.00 oz/sq ft (minimum) by the triple spot test and 1.80 oz/sq ft (by the single spot test). During production, the galvanizing process is rigorously controlled to develop a uniform metallurgical alloy bond between the steel and coating. This ensures a high level of adherence between the coating and the steel sheet to allow corrugating, forming into culvert or pipe, and lock-seaming without loss of coating adhesion.

Surface Finish

The coating on U.S. Steel Culvert Sheet typically exhibits a Regular Spangle surface finish. The spangle size may vary as a function of the steel thickness, and the features of the specific coating line used for manufacturing the product. The corrosion resistance of the coating is not affected by spangle size, thus, differences in spangle size do not affect the product performance.

Surface Treatment

U.S. Steel Culvert Sheet is shipped with a chemically treated surface like that described for galvanized sheet. The chemical treatment aids in the prevention of corrosion straining during transit and storage of the product. 

Culvert sheet also can be oiled if desired.