BOUNDARY EFFECTS ON RESPONSE OF POLYETHYLENE PIPE UNDER SIMULATED LIVE LOAD

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the deflection response of polyethylene pipes when loaded near their ends. Tests were conducted on pipes loaded at the center and near their ends to simulate loading of a vehicle at the center of a roadway and on the shoulder. The tests were performed on 900-mm (36-in.) and 1200-mm (48-in.) diameter polyethylene pipes with 610-mm (2-ft) cover and a variety of backfills. Loads were applied through a 93,025-sq mm (1-sq ft) plate that provides very severe loading conditions. At high contact stresses, the load test plate punched into the soil cover so that the crown of the pipe was subjected to stresses in excess of those that would have occurred if the soil surface were paved or stabilized or a less severe loading condition better representing a truck tire had been used. At contact stresses equivalent to moderate highway tire pressures, pipe deflections are slightly higher near the ends of the pipes than at the center. Except for low density till, the percent deflections are not excessive and the pipe-soil systems have adequate stiffness. For contact stresses near the upper limit of truck tire pressures and when loaded near the ends, the pipes with sand and till backfills fail by local wall bending. For flowable-fill backfill, the ultimate capacity of the pipes is nearly twice that for the soil backfills.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: p. 196-205
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00756088
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309064694
  • Files: TRIS, TRB
  • Created Date: Nov 3 1998 12:00AM