Comparative study for designing the horizontal thrust blocks in pipelines for water and sewage networks

Abstract

The thrust block is one of the most widely recognized methods of resisting thrust forces. This type of infrastructure should be installed in bends, dead ends, tees and wyes. Thrust blocks perform the function of transferring thrust force to the ground safely. Thrust block dimensions are designed based on hydrostatic pressures, bend angles, and soil properties in the surrounding area. Several codes exist for designing thrust blocks, but we focus on Egyptian code for design and implementation of pipelines for drinking water and sewage networks (ECDIPWSN) and the American Water Works Association (AWWA). In this methodology, the steps of thrust block design by the codes are demonstrated and applied individually to one of the published papers. The goal of the study was to find the optimum percentages between the dimensions of the block in the two codes and to compare the quantity of concrete after the block was designed by each code. Based on the research, it was found that the concrete amount of the block designed by AWWA was smaller than that designed by ECDIPWSN. HIGHLIGHT Results of the study discovered the volume of the thrust block created by the AWWA method was smaller than the volume created by the ECDIPWSN method when excavation depth was low but was larger when excavation depth was large.;

Keywords

• awwa
• ecdipwsn
• thrust block
• thrust force