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INSTRUCTOR:  Jesse L. Beaver, P.E., M.ASCE

Purpose and Background

This seminar, conducted by a leading engineer in the field of buried pipe, demonstrates the fundamentals of pipe‐soil interaction behavior, how soil and pipe behavior can be jointly considered in design and how proper construction methods can achieve design assumptions in the field. The principals of soil‐structure interaction covered in this seminar apply to all types of pipes, gravity‐flow and pressure. Typical buried pipe design taught to civil engineers focuses on flow hydraulics and misses the importance of structural design of the pipes to obtain desired service performance. This design process varies by the type of pipe including materials such as reinforced concrete, corrugated and solid wall steel, fiberglass, thermoplastics such as HDPE and PVC, and others. Further important factors include the type of installation, bedding conditions, backfill conditions, backfill soils, fill cover, and future live loadings.

Available standards for the structural design of buried pipe include those from ASCE, AWWA, AASHTO, and others. Each uses slightly different terminology and there is some variation in approaches. This course provides an overview of the basis for the structural design of buried pipes and teaches the concepts associated with soil‐structure interaction. Attendees will step through three design examples.

Benefits and Learning Outcomes

The primary objective of this seminar is to show how simultaneous consideration of pipe and soil, as two interrelated parts of one pipe‐soil system, can optimize pipe performance and longevity, prevent failures, and minimize the high cost of downtime and repairs. The course concentrates on pipe materials, pipe‐soil interaction, and pipe design procedures, with emphasis on soil behaviors as design criteria. Topics include loads on pipe, deflection calculations, soil stiffness (E’ and Ms), trench width effects, how to evaluate in situ soil stiffness, and how to consider time dependent behavior of plastic pipe. Design methods are presented for most types of pipe, emphasizing conditions in which the same design method may be used for all pipe materials. Applicability of computer methods available for pipe design (CANDE, PLAXIS) is also discussed. Day one focuses on pipe materials, soils, and their behavior. Day two focuses on the pipe‐soil system, design examples, and thrust restraint.

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the principles of proper pipeline structural design
• Explain the different design considerations for different buried pipe materials
• Explain how buried pipe performance depends on soil type and density (soil structure interaction)
• Explain how the correlation between soil density, which is measured in the field, and soil stiffness, the soil property that affects pipe performance
• Apply approximate and sophisticated methods for predicting deflection of flexible pipe
• Explain the relationship between pipe and soil and know how to apply this information in your own work to build durable, efficient pipelines which yield substantial short‐ and long‐term savings for you, your organization, and your clients
• Explain the latest changes in pipe specifications and why they are being made

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Achievement of the learning outcomes will be assessed through a short post-test (true-false, multiple choice and fill in the blank questions).

Who Should Attend?

• Practicing engineers with 0+ years’ experience (new engineers and experienced engineers).
• Background is civil, geotechnical, structural, and hydraulics engineering.
• Engineers with responsibilities including design, specification, management, installation, inspection
• Design engineers, project managers, construction managers, pipeline owners, specification writers
• Topics will include basic design calculations, mechanics of materials, and basic soil mechanics concepts

Outline

Day 1

1. Introduction
1. Objectives for good design of buried pipe
2. Life‐cycle cost analysis
2. Pipe Materials and Behavior
1. Description of common pipe materials
2. Introduction to structural plastics
3. Pipe and design specifications
4. Behavior of pipes based on pipe stiffness
5. Case Study – Lima Ductile Iron Pipe
3. Soil Materials and Behavior
1. Soil classification systems
2. Soil stiffness and strength
3. Introduction to Corrugated Plastic Pipe Design

Day 2

1. Pipe‐Soil System
1. Installation categories
2. Soil loads and live loads on buried pipes
3. Pipe deflection and buckling
2. Pipe Design
1. Universal design criteria
2. Rigid pipe design method and example
3. Flexible pipe design method and example
3. Thrust Restraint
1. Calculation of unbalanced forces at pipe bends
2. Design methods for thrust restraint
3. Thrust restraint design example
4. Finite Element Analysis
1. Introduction to two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional pipe analysis methods
2. Sample analysis results

How to Earn your CEUs/PDHs

This course is worth .8 CEUs/8 PDHs. To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short on-line post-test and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 30 days of the course.