Characterization of PVC joints' behaviour during variable loading laboratory tests

Abstract: This paper presents the results of three full-scale experiments performed on segmental concrete pipelines subjected to permanent ground displacement. The first pipeline was made of reinforced concrete pipes and the second pipeline was made of steel fibre-reinforced concrete pipes. The third pipeline was made of a combination of fibre-reinforced and reinforced concrete pipes. An array of sensing techniques was used to assess the damage evolution in pipelines and their overall performance. Three stages of damage were observed. In the first stage, damage was concentrated in the joints near the fault line. In the second stage, the damage occurred in all joints along the pipeline. While in the first two stages damage was mainly concentrated at the bell and spigot joints of the pipe segments, the third stage of damage was characterised by severe damage and rupture of the body of pipe segments located in the immediate vicinity of the fault line. The modes of failure for the plain and fibre-reinforced con...

Abstract: This is a discussion of a paper of the above title by J.K. Jeyapalan and B.M. Abdel-Magid published in the Journal of Transportation Engineering, May, 1987, Volume 113, No. 3. The discusser comments on pipe failure mode, and on the beam on elastic foundation model. The internal pressure and temperature effects, layered model, and total stress are also discussed. The article concludes with a closure by the authors.

Abstract: Introduction and Overview External Loads Design of Gravity Flow Pipes Design of Pressure Pipes Buried Pipe Products

Abstract: Since the late 1970s, polyvinyl chloride pipes have been used in a significant number of new water distribution systems in North America. While premature fracture failures have been reported for (unplasticized) PVC-U pipes worldwide, with good design and installation practice, current performance standards indicate that water utilities should expect a minimum 50-year service life from a PVC pipe, with expert opinion suggesting that 100 years is a conservative estimate for a properly designed and installed pipe. Quantifying the in-service life expectancy for PVC pipes will enable greater confidence in their use and, as a natural outcome, will also influence long-term asset management and replacement planning strategies applied by water utilities. The Awwa Research Foundation and CSIRO funded this study in order to be able to outline an approach to estimating in-service lifetimes for (unplasticised) PVC-U (commonly called PVC), (modified) PVC-M, and (oriented) PVC-O pipes, as well as the influence of manufacturing and installation practices on these lifetimes.

Abstract: As a consequence of unequal loading or variable soil conditions, longitudinal bending of buried gravity pipes leads to circumferential pipe cracking or joint opening, which results in groundwater infiltration or leakage. Since joints considerably affect longitudinal pipe behavior, an advanced investigation of this aspect requires knowledge of the joint mechanical properties and particularly of its stiffness. An experimental apparatus has been developed in order to determine the joint behavior under various loading conditions. Results of compression, shear, and bending tests are given in terms of force-displacement plots. A simple rheological bilinear model of the joint is elaborated from compression and shear tests and then validated on the experimental bending results. In general a good agreement is found between model and experimental output. This simple model will be implemented in numerical simulations of buried pipe behavior.

Abstract: Many of the waterworks facilities in Japan were constructed during the rapid economic growth period. Today, the deterioration and renovation of these aged facilities have become a pressing issue. There are approximately 600,000km worth of water pipelines laid out across Japan, accounting for about 70% of the nation's water-related assets (totalling ¥40 trillion). To provide water that is safe to use, it is necessary to improve and innovate water purification technologies; not only that, it is also vital to properly maintain and manage the pipelines. The current research aims to apply reliability engineering in the waterworks field as one possible approach and to show its viability; it will also obtain vital messages revealed within pipeline incident data. In other words, we collected the information concerning water distribution pipeline incidents through questionnaire surveys and then analysed the cumulative failure distribution (unreliability) by pipeline material, the failure probability density and failure rate, among others.

Abstract: Bell split, in which a shard is separated from the bell end of a bell-spigot joint, is a predominant failure mode (in addition to longitudinal facture) that is observed in lead-caulked bell-spigot joints of large-diameter cast-iron pipes installed between 1850 and the early 1960s. This paper addresses three specific issues related to this type of failure of lead-caulked bell-spigot joints: (1) the extent to which cast-iron pipe joints can rotate without inducing stress in the bell; (2) the behavior of the bell–spigot lead-caulked joints; and (3) an estimate of the degree of settlement that two or more contiguous segments of jointed cast-iron pipe can tolerate before failure. The procedures described in this paper were motivated by the need to understand and explain the circumstances that lead to this failure mode in large-diameter cast-iron pipes. A mechanistic model accounts for lead material nonlinearity, wet and dry joint conditions encountered in water and gas pipelines, respectively, and exis...