Pipe-Soil Interaction Analysis of Field Tests of Buried PVC Pipe

Abstract

Field tests of buried PVC (polyvinyl chloride) water mains have been undertaken to identify the mechanisms of pipe-soil interaction. Temperatures and strains on the pipes have been continuously measured since late 1993 for over two years. In a theoretical study, a simplified Winkler model was previously developed to simulate the response of a jointed pipe subjected to temperature and water pressure changes. The objective of this paper is to substantiate the theoretical understanding of responses of stresses and strains of the jointed pipes through comparative study of the field measurements and theoretical analyses. In general, good agreement was found between the predicted and measured strains, which supports the notion that the development of the strains is mainly a consequence of the seasonal pipe temperature variations. Possible reasons for some deviation between the predicted and measured strains are analyzed.