Full-scale field tests on hoop strains of buried HDPE pipes during construction

Field test data show that the installation of HDPE pipes results in considerable additional strain and stress on the pipes. However, it has not been well addressed in previous studies. In this study, the 0.6 m-diameter HDPE pipes are used in the field tests to investigate the relationship among the hoop strains, vertical and horizontal deflections and thickness of soil cover. It is found that the hoop strains generated in the construction phase (i.e., installation of HDPE pipes) have a good linear relationship with the deflection and the thickness of soil cover. This finding is then validated by a series of finite element numerical simulations. Based on the FE analysis, an empirical relationship is proposed to predict the hoop strains on the HDPE pipes generated in the construction phase. The availability of the proposed method is validated by comparing the predicted values with the field measured ones reported in the previous studies. The results demonstrate that the proposed method has merits of satisfactory accuracy and easy use.