Field Performance of In-Service Cast Iron Gas Reticulation Pipe Buried in Reactive Clay
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 7, Issue 2
Abstract
Field instrumentation of an in-service cast iron gas pipe buried in a residential area is detailed in this paper. The aim of the study was to monitor the long-term pipe behavior to understand the mechanisms of pipe bending in relation to ground movement as a result of seasonal fluctuation of soil moisture content. Field data showed that variation of soil temperature, suction, and moisture content are closely related to the prevailing climate. Change of soil temperature is generally related to the ambient air temperature, with a variation of approximately per meter depth from the ground surface in summer (decrease with depth) and winter (increase with depth). Seasonal cyclic variation in moisture content was observed with maxima in February and March, and a minimum around September. The pipe top was under tensile strain during summer and subsequently subjected to compressive strain as soil swelling occurred as a result of increase in moisture content. The study suggests that downward pipe bending occurs in summer because of soil shrinkage, while upward pipe bending occurs in winter when the soil swells.
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Acknowledgments
This field instrumentation was conducted in cooperation with SP AusNet, one of the major industrial partners of the ARC Linkage project. The authors would like to express their appreciation to SP AusNet for their financial and in-kind support and assistance during this instrumentation. The authors would also like to thank the other partners: City West Water, Alinta Limited, Envestra Limited, South East Water, Water Corporation, Ipswich Water, CSIRO, and Queen’s University (Canada) for their financial and in-kind support through this project. Finally, the authors would like to acknowledge the Australian Research Council (ARC) for being the main financial contributor to this project. The authors also acknowledge with thanks the help of Scott Gould, Kok Yun Lee, and Ben Shannon during the field instrumentation.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 7 • Issue 2 • May 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 14, 2014
Accepted: Sep 11, 2015
Published online: Dec 21, 2015
Published in print: May 1, 2016
Discussion open until: May 21, 2016
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