Name: Agliones, Camille C.

Subject Course/Code: Structural Design 1

Professor: Engr. Ernesto Lim, Jr.
Date: March 6, 2019

Reaction Paper on the Experimental Study of Reinforced Concrete Columns with

Embedded Pipe

A study entitled “Experimental Study of Reinforced Concrete Columns with Embedded

Pipe”, was conducted by Mr. Sayed Hossein Mousavian Najafabadi. It was submitted to the
faculty of Civil Engineering, University Technology Malaysia in partial fulfilment of the
requirement for award degree of Master of Engineering(Civil-Structure) last 2010. It was
stated in his study that Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) drain pipes will be replaced by steel pipes
in reinforced concrete columns. Providing a short idea about column, it is the vertical structural
member supporting axial compressive loads, with or with-out moments that supports vertical
loads from the floors and roofs and transmit loads to the foundations. It was justified after
many testing that Mr. Sayed study is an alternative solution for some problems caused by the
practice of embedding PVC pipes inside the columns like reduced compressive strength of the
column because placing the pipe inside the column decreases its effective cross-sectional area
and a chance of the formation of honeycombs around the drain pipe. It was also stated that by
using steel pipes instead of PVC drain pipes, the load carrying capacity of the columns can be
enhanced by 10 percent but proper coating of the pipes should be done to avoid rusting.
Mr. Sayed study is quiet interesting, knowing that for a tropical place like Malaysia and
Philippines, rainfall will happen as expected. For that reason, he considered the proper drainage
system for rain water in the construction of all building project having flat roofs. In the
positioning of the pipe, it has a greater effect because during casting and vibrating of the
concrete there are chances that the pipe may result to an inclined position which will cause a
further decrease in load carrying capacity of the column. In addition to his study, there are
factors to consider that affect the life span of both materials. Considering the type of weather
that we have in the Philippines, it is more effective to use steel pipe. Normally, the dry season
in the Philippines is 6 months and it could be more due to the fact that Global Warming is
continuously growing.
Steel pipes have high heat resistance than PVC pipes. It is recommended to use steel
pipes on infrastructures for a more durable result despite of the cost. It was also stated that steel
pipes are safer to use than PVC pipes and he was right about it especially in a tropical place.
Though PVC pipes are cheaper but it cannot withstand heat. Heat can affect the property of the
PVC pipes resulting to its low performance. If there is a possibility of honeycomb formation
in the PVC pipes, in steel pipes there's also rust. Rusting will really occur because of leakage
at the lapping parts or joints of the pipes but as I researched, there are ways on how to prevent
the rustiness of a steel which was not stated in the study. It involves coating the surface of the
steel pipe.

The study states the alternative way of PVC drain pipe is steel pipe, I agree with it. The
results of the study showed that steel pipe has a huge reduction in load carrying capacity.
However, there are some considerations to be taken just like the coating and the availability of
the material. The PVC drain pipes are economical but despite the immediate benefits, there is
always one thing that plastic will never have on steel, it will never last as long. On top of that,
while it can resist a lot of heat, it is nowhere near as heat resistant as something like steel. This
means that you will probably need to replace or maintain well the PVC pipes still it would be
costly. Due to lack of information and practice in the codes of construction, it will be very hard
to conduct the study using this alternative way.