Research on the Mechanical Behavior of Buried Double-Wall Corrugated Pipes

Abstract

The mechanical behavior of buried HDPE double-wall corrugated pipes is mainly affected by the material and the structure of the pipe wall. Here we studied a peculiar material that added fly ash (FA) in high density polyethylene (HDPE) to develop composites. We have conducted research on FA/HDPE composites with different mix proportions. When 5% compatibilizer was added to the 10% FA masterbatch/HDPE composite, the Young’s Modulus of FA/HDPE composite was higher. This paper mainly studies the mechanical behavior of the structure of pipe walls for materials with this proportion of the ingredients. The mechanical behavior of double-wall corrugated pipes with different ratios of interior and exterior wall thicknesses is studied by keeping the sum of the interior and exterior wall thicknesses unchanged. Pipes with six different ratios of interior and exterior wall thicknesses are simulated; the results show that the strain of crest and liner gradually decreased and the valley strain gradually increased with the increase of the exterior wall thickness. By comparing inner and outer wall thickness ratios from 0.67 to 2.33, it is found that the structural performance and economic advantage for the double-wall corrugated pipes is best when the thickness ratio of the interior wall and the exterior wall is controlled to be from 1.3 to 1.8. This paper expounds the deformation mechanism of double-wall corrugated pipes from the perspective of mechanical behavior and structural characteristics, and provides a reference for material selection and structural design of double-wall corrugated pipes.

Keywords

• interior and exterior wall thicknesses
• circumferential strain
• radial displacement
• soil load