Mechanical Properties and Strength of Aged Cast Iron Water Pipes
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 16, Issue 1
Abstract
The problem of aging water pipes manifesting leaks and breaks is common to municipalities throughout the North American continent and the world. The age distribution of the failing pipes is broad and the pipe material originates from periods when different manufacturing technologies were employed. Consequently, cast iron pipes exhibit a significant variability of material properties. In addition, these pipes are also in a more or less advanced state of deterioration as a result of corrosion phenomena. A general knowledge of the properties and state of deterioration of a water main network is needed to understand the failure mechanisms contributing to water pipe failure. Among them, knowledge of the mechanical properties of the pipe material itself is fundamental. To achieve this goal, an extensive pipe and soil sampling and testing program was undertaken on excavated pipes in Toronto, Ontario. The mechanical tests performed on pipes included tension, compression, and ring bearing tests as well as full-scale longitudinal bending tests. The outcome of this experimental investigation contributes towards a better understanding of the complex phenomena involved in the pipe failure process.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). (1994). “Standard test methods for tension testing of metallic materials.” ASTM E8-94a, Philadelphia.
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). (2000). “Standard test methods of compression testing of metallic materials at room temperature.” ASTM E9-89a, West Conshohocken, Pa.
American Water Works Association (ASA/AWWA). (1962a). “American standard for cast-iron pipe, centrifugally cast in metal molds, for water or other liquids.” ASA/AWWA A21.6/C106-62, New York.
American Water Works Association (ASA/AWWA). (1962b). “American standard for cast-iron pipe, centrifugally cast in sand-lined molds, for water or other liquids.” ASA/AWWA A21.8/C108-62, New York.
American Water Works Association (USAS/AWWA). (1967). “USA standard for thickness design of cast-iron pipe.” USAS/AWWA A21.1/H1-67, New York.
Baker, H. (1997). “NRC working on trenchless diagnostic tools.” Facts, Centre for Advancement of Trenchless Technologies at Waterloo, 2(4), 1–2.
Bauld, N. R. (1986). Mechanics of materials, PWS Publishers, Boston, Mass.
Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC). (2000). Handbook of steel construction, 7th Ed., 2nd CISC, Toronto, 7–40.
Caproco Corrosion Prevention Ltd. (1985). “Underground corrosion of water pipes in Canadian cities. Case: The city of Calgary.” Rep. Prepared for CANMET, Ottawa.
Conlin, R. M., and Baker, T. J. (1991). “Application of fracture mechanics to the failure behavior of buried cast iron mains.” Contract Rep. No. 266, Transport and Road Research Laboratory, London.
Dennis, T. (1998). “The City of Toronto experience.” Presentation at Rehabilitation Workshop, Centre for Advancement of Trenchless Technologies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ont., Canada.
Doyle, G., Seica, M. V., and Grabinsky, M. W. F. (2002). “The role of soil in the external corrosion of cast-iron water mains in Toronto, Canada.” Can. Geotech. J., in press.
Gray and Ductile Iron Founders’ Society (GDIFS). (1971). Gray and ductile iron castings handbook, Cleveland.
Ma, Z., and Yamada, K. (1994). “Durability evaluation of cast iron water supply pipes by sampling tests.” Proc., Structural Engineering, Japan Society of Civil Engineers, Tokyo, 40A.
Makar, J. M., Desnoyers, R., and McDonald, S. E. (2001). “Failure modes and mechanisms in grey cast iron pipes.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Underground Infrastructure Research, Kitchener, Ont., Canada, 303–312.
McGhee, T. J. (1991). Water supply and sewerage, 6th Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York.
O’Day, D. K.(1982). “Organizing and analyzing leak and break data for making main replacement decisions.” J. Am. Water Works Assoc., 74(11), 589–594.
O’Day, D. K., Fox, C. M., and Huguet, G. M. (1980). “Aging urban water systems: a computerized case study.” Public Works, 111(8), 61–64, 111.
Rajani, B., et al. (2000). “Investigation of gray cast iron water mains to develop a methodology for estimating service life.” Report No. 280, American Water Works Association Research Foundation, Denver.
Rajani, B., Zhan, C., and Kuraoka, S.(1996). “Pipe-soil interaction analysis of jointed water mains.” Can. Geotech. J., 33(3), 393–404.
Seica, M. V. (2002). “Investigation of the structural performance of cast iron water pipes.” PhD thesis, University of Toronto, Toronto.
Seica, M. V. and Packer, J. A. (2004). “Finite element evaluation of the remaining mechanical strength of deteriorated cast iron pipes.” J. Eng. Mater. Technol., in press.
Seica, M. V., Packer, J. A., Grabinsky, M. W. F., and Adams, B. J.(2002). “Evaluation of the properties of Toronto iron water mains and surrounding soil.” Can. J. Civ. Eng., 29(2), 222–237.
Shawki, G. S. A., and Naga, S. A. R.(1986). “On the mechanics of gray cast iron under pure bending.” J. Eng. Mater. Technol., 108(2), 141–146.
Shawki, G. S. A., and Naga, S. A. R.(1987). “On the mechanics of fracture in gray cast iron.” J. Eng. Mater. Technol., 109(5), 288–292.
Water and Wastewater Services Division (W&WS). (2000). “Water… Toronto treats it with care.” 1999/2000 Review, City of Toronto Works and Emergency Services, Toronto.
Yamamoto, K., Mizoguti, S., and Yoshimitsu, K.(1983). “Relation between graphitic corrosion and strength degradation of cast iron pipe.” Corr. Eng., 32(3), 157.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 26, 2002
Accepted: Feb 21, 2003
Published online: Jan 16, 2004
Published in print: Feb 2004
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.