Pipe Failure
---
on behalf of pipe manufacturer ---
We were engaged to investigate the cause of jacked pipe failures on behalf of the pipe manufacturer.
Our investigation included test results of the pipe material, operational jacking
forces, shift records, and critical spatial relationships.
It was found that:
-
the
pipe did not fail at the location of the highest stress at the jacking pit
-
pipe
failures occurred on Mondays
-
other
pipes failed on Tuesdays when Monday was a holiday
-
failure
occurred on multiple occasions where the soil/rock interface crossed the
pipe envelope
-
the
concrete strength exceeded specifications and distributed jacking loads
The inevitable conclusion were:
-
the
jacked pipe was not lubricated properly
-
the
soil rock/interface was inadequately excavated & pipe traveled out of
alignment over the rock
-
the
pipe continued to be out of alignment setting the stage for future failures
-
point
loads / stress concentrations as a result of out of alignment pipe were responsible for the failures
CASE SETTLED AMICABLY
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GeoConSol
