Testing Specification Design
Plastic Pipes Conference Association # 1995 Edinburgh
Alferink, Guldback, Grootook
Wavin gained a lot of experience with operational PVC sewer pipes by monitoring installations and measuring pipe deflections over a period of about 35 years, as reflected in the database "PiPer". Some of the oldest pipes have been measured and dug up now to study the durability of these pipes. Furthermore the results are used to obtain a more accurate lifetime prediction of newly installed pipes.
Therefore, Wavin SA Varennes in France and Nordisk Wavin AS in Denmark cooperated closely with Wavin Marketing & Technology. At several locations pipes were measured before and after digging up by which the deformation and the recovery were determined.
The pipes aged between 12 and 30 years. System owners were asked to select those sites from which they know that the pipes have been installed in a poor way or severely loaded by ground settlements. As a result, the deformations found in these severely loaded pipes are the upper level of what normally can be expected in the field.
The results of the functional tests showed that the pipes still fulfil the stiffness requirements, and their functional and structural integrity is still ensured.
The pipes will easily maintain their function for a much longer period than originally anticipated. Considering the fact that the raw material as well as the pipe production process have been improved since the early years, it can be expected that the currently produced PVC pipes fulfilling CEN requirements will last for several hundred years.
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