Review and recommendations for structural testing of buried gravity storm drain pipes and culverts

Abstract

Buried pipes are important components of the underground infrastructure. Structural failure of these pipes is costly, socially and environmentally disruptive. To prevent such incidents, a deep understanding of the soil–pipe interaction system behavior is needed. Currently, two common standard methods are available for the structural testing of pipes: parallel-plate loading test and three-edge bearing test, in which the effects of surrounding soil and distributed load on the pipe sample are ignored. However, in the available design methodologies the effect of bedding and load distribution is considered though empirical factors. As of today, there is no standard test method available for structural testing of pipes considering the effect of soil–pipe interaction system. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are to present a literature review of full-scale structural testing methods of relatively large diameter gravity pipes ranging from 36 in (90 cm) and larger, and suggest a general soil–pipe test procedure for structural evaluation of large diameter gravity pipes, such as culverts. Discussions are made for selection of a soil–pipe structural testing condition, loading method, loading rate, loading configurations, and required instrumentations for capturing and recording test results.