Evaluation and Application of the Flexural Rigidity of a Reinforced Concrete Pipe
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 7, Issue 1
Abstract
Design of reinforced concrete pipes focuses on circumferential bending moment. Analytical or numerical methods can be used to estimate these, but an adequate representation of the soil conditions and pipe properties is necessary. The objective of this research study is to use simple experiments (three-edge bearing tests) along with closed-form solutions to obtain the circumferential flexural rigidity of a 600 mm reinforced concrete pipe for use in calculating moments from experimental measurements of changes in curvature (without knowledge of the soil and loading conditions). The data from the experiments were also used to calculate an elastic modulus that can be used to represent the circumferential flexural rigidity of the specimen in numerical simulations without having to model the reinforcement. An assessment of the methods used in this research study is also presented. Finally, use of the circumferential flexural rigidity in interpretation of buried pipe experiments is illustrated where moments in a reinforced concrete pipeline subjected to live loading are inferred from measured strains, comparing pipes for different burial depths and configurations.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) through the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC. The findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors. Dr. Becerril García’s doctoral studies at Queen’s University were funded by the Mexican National Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT) and by the NCHRP. The authors would also like to thank Mr. Graeme Boyd for his invaluable technical support. The development of the testing facilities at Queen’s University was supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the government of Ontario. The authors also thank Paul Imm from the Ontario Concrete Pipe Association and M-Con for donating the pipes tested in this project.
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Information & Authors
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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: Aug 29, 2014
Accepted: Jun 18, 2015
Published online: Jul 16, 2015
Discussion open until: Dec 16, 2015
Published in print: Feb 1, 2016
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