Stress Reduction on Buried Conduits Using EPS Geofoam

In the recent years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia started some huge projects in the field of infrastructure development through all the Kingdom regions. Reinforced concrete pipes are considered to be a good and economic choice for sewage pipes because they are less expensive, locally produced, and environmentally safe. The use of reinforced concrete pipes is not limited to the sewage systems, but they are also used in water and oil transfer as well as in storm water drainage systems and utility tunnels throughout the Kingdom cities.

The current paper aims to identify the trouble zone above buried conduits to be careful during installation pipes or construct buildings on these zones and to investigate how to improve the performance of rigid conduits under heavy overburden soil loads using EPS-Polystyrene around it and compared the geometry of trouble zone above pipe with different diameters of pipes and modulus of elasticity of inclusion. The results of the study show the improvement in the performance of reinforced concrete pipes under high overburden pressure by reducing the vertical stress above buried pipes around 95% when using a thin layer of EPS-geofoam around pipes due to the development of arch action above the pipe. Furthermore, the trouble zone determined for different diameters of pipes to protect buildings that will constructed from settlement.

Keywords: Buried pipes; Stress reduction; EPS geofoam; Disturbance zone; FLAC; Reinforced concrete