Experimental Study of the Effects Produced by a Backfilling Process on Full-Scale Buried Corrugated HDPE Pipes in Fine-Grained Soils
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 7, Issue 1
Abstract
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes are widely used throughout the world due to their significant advantages. Most of the previous studies have focused on the behavior of the pipe-soil system under live loading and the development of theories and design methods. However, studies on the effect of construction on the response of HDPE pipes buried in fine-grained soils have not been well understood. In this study, a full-scale field test was conducted to investigate the earth pressure and deflection of three profile-wall corrugated HDPE pipes during installation in fine-grained soils. Pipes with diameters of 300 and 600 mm were buried in trenches with a width of 2.0 m. The test results demonstrate that the pipes deformed into a vertical ellipse before the backfilling reached the top of the pipe level and then gradually rerounded afterwards. The measured vertical earth pressure above the top of the pipe was lower than the overburden stress and pressure calculated using the Marston load theory, which is attributable to the positive soil arching developed in the backfill and the effect of compaction. When the backfilling level was above the top of the pipe, the lateral earth pressure at the pipe springline was approximately two times the corresponding geostatic pressure, which was attributed to the soil arching developed in the soil cover. Linear functions were proposed to correlate the measured pipe deflections both in the vertical and horizontal directions with the soil cover thickness. The proposed vertical deflection-soil cover thickness relationship was validated using the data reported in a previous study. An empirical equation was also developed to quantify the unique relationship between the ratio of vertical deflection to horizontal deflection and the soil cover thickness.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the financial support of National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51108078, 51310105030, 51278100, and 41472258), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant Nos. BK2013294 and BK2012022), and Opening Projects of Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering (Tongji University), Ministry of Education (Grant No. KLE-TJGE-B1102). The authors also express their gratitude to graduate students Xiaogang Qin, Quan You, Dongdong Dong, and Pencheng Wang at Southeast University for their assistance in conducting the field tests. The authors want to appreciate Professor Fayun Liang at Tongji University for his constructive suggestions for the field test plan.
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Published In
Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 7 • Issue 1 • February 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 27, 2014
Accepted: Mar 19, 2015
Published online: May 18, 2015
Discussion open until: Oct 18, 2015
Published in print: Feb 1, 2016
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