Development of a new class of precast concrete pipes - an experimental evaluation

Concrete pipes represent the backbone of the municipal storm and wastewater collection systems of Ontario, Canada. Industry and academia partnered on a research effort that aimed at developing new precast-concrete pipe products that provide added value to the final user in comparison with existing products. This paper describes a full-scale experimental evaluation of the design, manufacturing, and performance aspects of a "cellular" concrete pipe, a precast concrete pipe in which multiple continuous conduits were incorporated within its wall. Two fully-instrumented prototype segments of the proposed cellular concrete pipe were manufactured using standard dry-cast manufacturing procedures. The pipe segments were subjected to a D-load test to evaluate their structural performance. The observed structural performance was found to be comparable to solid-wall specimens, particularly when a four-conduit configuration was used. Of the six materials used as conduits, PVC and aluminum were found to perform the best. The presence of the conduits appears to delay the on-set of major cracks, thus increasing the D-load value. Key words: precast, concrete, pipe, experimental, conduit system, trenchless construction methods.