Experimental Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Centrifugal Concrete in Circular Pipes

Abstract

To investigate the cracking of concrete in reinforced concrete circular pipe culverts, which are mostly manufactured by a process of centrifugal roller suspension, buried more than 5,000 mm under soil, a series of tests were designed to determine the strength of the pipe wall concrete. The experimental results demonstrate that a process of two-step centrifugal molding contributes to greater average concrete strength, better crack resistance, and improved impermeability. Both the tensile and compressive strength of the outer walls are greater using the two-step centrifugal molding than walls constructed using the vertical vibration casting method. The inner wall concrete strength manufactured by one-step centrifugal molding is lower than the strength for concrete using the other two methods. Based on tests and analysis, calculation factors of concrete strengths of the inner and outer pipe walls are proposed. Three-edge-bearing experiments were also carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed factors.