Laboratory Investigation of the Structural Performance of a Large-Diameter Steel-Reinforced Polyethylene Pipe
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 15, Issue 1
Abstract
A commissioning test of the deep-burial simulator at Queen’s University, Canada, was conducted on a 3.05-m-diameter steel-reinforced polyethylene pipe to evaluate the behavior and design of this pipe class under deep burial. The diameter change measurements indicated that friction on the side walls was mitigated ensuring that the surface load was transferred to the pipe. Measurements of the displacement and rotation of the surface loading plates and strain in the steel reinforcing strips combined with visual observations after exhumation indicated that the pipe failed due to yielding of the steel reinforcing ribs. The surface pressure that the pipe was able to withstand exceeded the maximum burial depth specified by the manufacturer. Comparisons are also made between the experimental thrust forces at the springline and estimates from two design codes and a finite-element estimate; all were similar, with the rate of thrust increase with overburden pressure from the computer analysis approximately 8% larger than the measurement. Thus, the experimental results confirm that use of finite-element and code-equation analyses to design this pipe class for deep-burial conditions appear to be appropriate.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the Government of Ontario for their financial support of this research. Thanks also to Mr. Darrell Sanders of Contech for providing the test specimen used in this research as well as financial support of the test facility used for this research. Finally, Graeme Boyd, Joshua Coghlan, and Brian Westervelt deserve recognition for helping with instrumentation and data acquisition.
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Published In
Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 15 • Issue 1 • February 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 2, 2022
Accepted: Jul 21, 2023
Published online: Sep 27, 2023
Published in print: Feb 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Feb 27, 2024
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