EARTH STRUCTURE

EARTH FOUNDATION

CONTENTS

 Pre-planning geologic exploration

 Arranging basements and tank foundations
 Arranging foundation
 Acceptance of basement and foundation

PRE-PLANNING GEOLOGIC EXPLORATION

-GEOLOGIC AND HYDRO-GEOLOGICAL RESEARCH

 While planning the project for the foundation of a tank it is essential to study the
geologic structure of the construction site and hydro-geologic conditions.
 The soil exploration depth, as regards those, located lower the foundation base,
depends on pressure, carried over by the construction to the basement. The depth is
accepted to be either equal or more than the depth of the basement active area
(compressible thickness of the basement soil).
 Soil investigation is carried out by pitting and punching.
2. ARRANGING BASEMENTS AND TANK FOUNDATIONS

The planned construction should be considered together with its basement, as the weight of
the installation and other possible operation impact make the basement soil suffer
additional pressure, become distorted (condensed and subsided) and thus influence the
whole installation. The foundation basement can be represented by either of the two types:
earth foundation and artificial subgrade.

- EARTH FOUNDATION (NATURAL BASE)

 This includes basements with the soil located under the foundation base in their
natural occurrence.
 Only soil with enough compression resistance can be used as natural base, provided
that its distortion (subsidence) does not exceed the cut-off value under the
installation load through the foundation base.
 In order to provide the necessary steadiness and endurance of the constructed
installation, the soil of the earth foundation should show the following basic
features:
- Low and even compressibility, i.e. high mass density, ensuring low and even
subsidence of the installation;
- Should be un-dissolving under the influence of ground-, rain- and melt-water.
 In the course of tank operation while the basement soil’s density increases, the
foundation subsidence takes place. If the strain of the foundation base exceeds the
 estimated resistance, the basement soil receives intermittent congestions, and the
foundation has different subsidence ratio at its various points. This subsidence may
be extremely big and may lead to the loss of steadiness of the on-foundation part of
the installation or achieving the extreme endurance limit level.
 In order to determine the influence of subsidence on the installation, engineering
calculation of basements and foundations is made. The basement estimating
calculations include determining of pressure (stress) of the soil under the foundation
base and the level of subsidence of the basement soil that may be shown under this
stress.
 If prohibitive rates are received for the subsidence, special measures should be
undertaken for the sake of reducing the strain and bringing subsidence to acceptable
limits. The latter may be achieved by enlargement of the foundation base or
choosing an artificial subgrade.

-EARTH FOUNDATIONS WITH BEDDING COURSE

To ensure reliability and economic effectiveness of the construction framework an

intermediate scheme is often used – the one between a natural base and an artificial
subgrade. It is an earth foundation with sand or soil bedding (cushion) provided in the form
of basement bedding course. It is also possible to arrange a concrete ring under the tank
wall. Basement bedding course is meant to provide the following:

 Allocation of the tank metal frameworks’ pressure on the basement;

 Bottom drainage;
 Ensuring the bottom corrosion preventive functions.

The following material can be used for the bedding course:

 Compacted coarse sand

 Crushed stone
 Gravel
 Sand-and-gravel mixture

The bottom corrosion preventive protection is provided by a hydrophobic layer with

binders, put on top of the bedding course.

As a rule, the height of the bedding course is equal to 0.2 – 2.5 m. This depends on the
results of the engineering and geologic exploration of the construction site.

The surface of the bedding course is inclined from the centre to the edges. It is meant to
balance the uneven subsidence of the tank and to ensure the influx of the stored
product to the pumping devices. In practice the tank bottom subsidence may amount to
 2m, that is why rising of its central part may become the key factor of the long operation
life period of the construction.

If the building site has soft or heaving soil at little depth (up to 3 m), which characteristic
of areas with deep seasonal soil is freezing, it is possible to replace them with local
densification of sand or clay soil. If the soft soil layer is thicker this method does not
often show economic effectiveness, as the current cost of tank levelling increases.

ARRANGING FOUNDATION

 Foundation is the part of construction that transfers the load of the installation
weight on the basement soil and distributes the load on such area of the basement,
which allows the foundation base pressure not to exceed the estimated levels.
 The design plan may imply different types of foundation: complete plates (slabs)
under the whole structure, strip foundation –only under the walls, and pier
foundation in the form of separate supporting structures.
 The choice of the foundation type depends on soil resistance to compression, its
heaving properties in seasonal freezing, depth of its occurrence, the planned shape
of the construction, and also on the weight load parameters and the scheme of its
transfer to the basement soil.
 While arranging the tank foundation it should be foreseen to perform special
measures to ensure diverting of ground water and precipitation from under the tank
bottom. All foundation arrangements should be made before starting its installation.
 The planned basement perimeter walk (paving), the shaft staircase foundation, the
piers for pipelines are recommended to be installed after assembling the tank’s
metal frameworks.
 There is a wide variety of tank foundation types in modern construction practice.
 The choice of the most efficient type depends on the loading capacity and
engineering-geologic conditions. The use of foundations on natural base, partially or
fully without piles under the tank bottom, seems to be the most preferable due to
low cost.
-CIRCULAR (RING) FOUNDATION

 Girder (wall) foundation is often applied combined with the basement bedding
course.
 An iron-concrete foundation ring is installed under the tank wall for tanks with
loading capacity exceeding 2000m³. The ring has to be not less than 0.8 m wide for
tanks with less than 3000 m³ loading capacity, and it should not be less than 1.0 m
for tanks with capacity exceeding 3000 m³. The thickness of the ring should not in
any case be less than 0.3m.

 As practical experience shows, this construction of the foundation provides stability

of bedding course only, at the same time not increasing rigidity of the junction of the
tank wall and its bottom. This construction also does not affect the unevenness of
subsidence of the tank basement.
 In certain conditions the foundation in the form of a circular wall is also effective. It
cuts through upper layers of the basement soil and may transfer the load to the
underlying dense layers.
 The requirements of the State Standard GOST demand to install foundation rings for
all tanks irrespective the loading capacity installed in areas of estimated seismic
activity equal and exceeding 7 balls rated on Richter scale. The width is supposed to
be not less than 1.5 m, the ring thickness is implied not less than 0.4 m.
 The foundation ring is designed for basic stress (load) combination. In case of
construction sites in seismic areas (7 balls and more on Richter scale) specific stress
combination is also considered.
 There is also practice to use circular foundation of gravel or crushed stone along with
the bedding course; and also iron concrete circular foundation, located directly
under the tank wall, as well as foundation in the form of iron-concrete breast wall,
located in the outer space of the tank.
 While arranging the ring in the form of breast wall the bedding course is made of
sand-gravel mixture or gravel.
 Iron-concrete foundation is usually made of cast reinforced concrete with
rectangular cross-section.
 Sometimes the foundation is made on natural base with crushed stone ring under
the wall. Such foundation is effective in case of anticipated subsidence not more
than 15 sm.
 This is its main peculiarity: crushed stone is used instead of sand directly under the
wall to arrange crushed stone or gravel bund not less than 60 sm high with the top
width of 1-2 m.
 Crushed stone is laid in layers of 20 sm each, thoroughly tampered. Directly under
the bottom on its full square the crushed stone layer is arranged (6), not less than 10
sm. Drain pipes of around 9 sm in diameter are installed additionally.
 The following construction schemes may be applied for wide tanks: sand bedding
course is arranged under the bottom and either iron-concrete or crushed stone
circular foundation is installed under the wall, depending on the soil conditions.
 The under-wall bedding course on the outside of foundation is installed with slight
slope of 1:5, which is supported by the breast wall in its lower part.
 The bund is equipped with drain pipes and protected by the asphalt coat (dope).
 There is a damping asphalt layer not less than 20 sm between the bottom and iron-
concrete surface of the ring foundation.
 Additional measures of foundation reinforcing are constantly developed to increase
safety of large tanks.
 The sand-gravel cushion is covered by mixture of sand, crushed stone, asphalt
emulsion and cement, compressed by rolling afterwards.
 The received surface takes away part of the cushion load, transferring it to the iron-
concrete ring.
 The foundation can be also made in the form of iron-concrete slabs. In these cases
tank stands on an iron-concrete slab, installed either on the basement surface or
lower the grading elevation.
 The iron-concrete wall along the perimeter of the plate is earthed lower its
foundation bed and serves for reducing the lateral shift of the soil.
PILED FOUNDATIONS

TRADTIONAL APPROACH TO ARRANGED PILE FOUNDATIONS

 This type of foundation is quite often used at sites with soft soil. Construction
experience in industrial and civil building shows that in most cases piles can help to
achieve the acceptable level of construction subsidence. However, the practice of
piled foundation in tank construction shows that it does not always help to get the
desired result. Along with this, such type of foundation is quite money-consuming
and the level of capital expenditure is almost equal to the cost of the metal
frameworks itself.
 It was registered not for once, that tanks on piled foundation showed higher
subsidence than it had been planned in the course of hydro-tests, amounting to half
of the subsidence level, foreseen for the whole period of tank operation life.
 The ineffective use of piled foundation in tank construction may be explained by the
following: in case of large tanks, piles with the usual length of 0.25 of the tank
diameter and less, are located in the area of maximum vertical strain at the tank
basement. That is why reducing the strain by making the foundation deeper does
not have sufficient influence on such foundation’s subsidence.
 The use of piled foundations may even be dangerous when there are layers of higher
compressibility at big depth at the tank basement. It is not always possible to reveal
such layers due to technical difficulties, connected with punching and taking the soil
samples at deep depths.
 Specialists tend to think that piled foundation with monolithic grillage represents a
sufficiently rigid construction. There are certain results of subsidence surveys for
tanks with piled foundation that convincingly deny this point of view.
 Foundations with piles under the whole bottom and with iron-concrete grillage
 As a result of many years’ experience of tank construction on soft water saturated
soil there are several effective measures of basement preparation. The main goal of
these measures is to compress the soft soil before starting construction procedures,
which is aimed at improving the soil’s physical-mechanic characteristics.
 This is supposed to be achieved by the use of prismatic driven piles of various length
and cross-section in combination with grillage and slabs. The piles are, as a rule,
installed under the whole bottom in the form of the complete pile field, each pile is
  at distance of 1 m from the other.
 Foundations with piles under the whole bottom and with intermediate bedding are
also used. Here a layer of crushed stone or granular material is put over the piles and
serves instead of the iron-concrete coat.

RING PILED FOUNDATION

 It is an effective solution for sites with soft soil. The ring monolithic iron-concrete
foundation takes the load of the tank wall and transfers it to the dense soil of low
compressibility through either of the following schemes:
- Crushed stone cushion,
- Concrete foundation mattress
- Monolithic iron-concrete grillage,
 -Two rows of tightly fixed piles.
 This structure enables to reduce the unevenness of the basement subsidence under
the tank wall.

-RING PILED FOUNDATION WITH SHIFTING (DISPLACEMENT)

 It is used as an improved version of ring piled foundation.

  Displacing of the monolithic iron-concrete ring and the ring piled foundation in
relation to the tank wall is considered one of the solutions of tank subsidence
problems.
 The rate of displacing is determined depending on local characteristics of soil
basement, construction load and the number of piles’ rows in the grillage.
 This can result in sufficient decrease of unevenness of subsidence along the tank
perimeter and the whole structure within the operating life period.
 In the course of arranging this type of foundation the soil basement is planned, the
piles are installed at the planned point, their location is determined depending on
local characteristics of the soil basement, structure load and the number of piles’
rows in the grillage.
 The monolithic iron-concrete ring grillage is installed on pile-heads, after that the
crushed stone bedding is arranged, on which the monolithic iron-concrete ring is put.
 The sand cushion is planned and arranged under the tank bottom, then the metal
frameworks of the tank are assembled.

The basement and the foundation should correspond to the requirements of the project
design drawings.

EARTH DIKE

An earth dike is a temporary berm or ridge of compacted soil located in a manner to channel
water to a desired location. Earth dikes are used to protect work areas from upslope runoff
and to divert sediment-laden water to appropriate traps or stable outlets.

APPLICATIONS

Earth dikes are used in construction areas to control erosion, sedimentation, or flood
damage. Earth dikes can be used in the following situations: ƒ

 Across unprotected slopes, as slope breaks, to reduce length. ƒ

 Below slopes to divert excess runoff to stabilized outlets. ƒ
  At or near the perimeter of the construction area to keep sediment-laden runoff
from leaving the site. ƒ
 To protect cut or fill slopes by diverting upslope flows away from disturbed areas to
a stabilized outlet. ƒ
 To direct any sediment-laden runoff to a sediment-trapping device. ƒ
 To direct clean water away from disturbed areas

LIMITATIONS
 Drainage area – 10 ac.
 Maximum slope – 10%
 Minimum bedrock depth – 5 ft.
 Minimum water table – 5 ft.
 NRCS soil type - ABC
 Freeze/thaw – fair
 Drainage/flood control – yes

DESIGN PARAMETERS

 The earth dike should be constructed of compacted soil or coarse aggregate.

 The channel formed behind the dike should have a positive grade to a stabilized
outlet.
 The channel should be stabilized with vegetation or other stabilization measures.
 Grades over 10% may require site-specific design developed or approved by a
registered engineer.

CONSTRUCTION GUIDELINES

 Some general considerations include proper compaction of the earth dike,

appropriate location to divert the intercepted runoff, and proper ridge height and
thickness. Earth dikes should be constructed along a positive grade. Other than the
discharge point, there should be no dips or low points where storm water will
collect.
 Runoff intercepted from disturbed areas should be diverted to a sediment trapping
device. Runoff from undisturbed areas can be channelled to an existing swale or to a
level spreader. Stabilization for the dike and flow channel (or drainage swale) should
be stabilized as soon as possible. Stabilization materials can include vegetation,
stone, or riprap. ƒ
 Construct the dike where it will not interfere with major areas of construction traffic
so that vehicle damage to the dike will be kept to the minimum. ƒ
 Install the dike prior to the majority of soil disturbing activity. The dike may be
removed when stabilization of the drainage area and outlet are complete. ƒ
 Clear the area of all trees, brush, stumps, or other obstructions. ƒ
  Construct the dike to the designed cross-section, line and grade making sure that
there are no irregularities or bank projections to impede the flow. Construct the
connecting portion to any stream channel last. ƒ
 The dike should be compacted using earth-moving equipment (to prevent failure of
the dike). ƒ
 The dike should be stabilized at least 10 days after installation. The flow channel
should be stabilized according to the criteria in Table 41-2 below. In highly erodible
soils, as defined by NRCS Soil Survey of the project’s county, refer to the next higher
slope grade for type of stabilization. ƒ
 Earth dikes should have an outlet that function with a minimum of erosion. Runoff
should be conveyed to a sediment-trapping device until the drainage area above the
dike is adequately stabilized. The on-site location may need to be adjusted to meet
field conditions in order to utilize the most suitable outlet.

MAINTENANCE

 Inspect diversion dikes regularly and after every storm. Make any repairs necessary
to ensure they are in good working order. ƒ
 Inspect the dike, flow channel and outlet for deficiencies or signs of erosion.
 If material should be added to the dike, be sure it is properly compacted. ƒ
 Reseed/stabilize the dike as needed to maintain its stability regardless if there has
been a storm event or not.
TRENCHING FOR CABLE

SITE PREPARATION
 In the beginning stages of construction the underground alignment will be surveyed
and existing utilities will be demarcated.
 Traffic control measures will be implemented to provide a safe working area.
 In areas where the installation is in a paved road, the pavement will be saw cut
before excavation.
 Signs and barriers to be secured with sand bags if necessary.
 Maintain a safe route for pedestrians to by-pass by the works.
 Guard pedestrians from vehicles when directed into carriageway.
 Where required lights to be attached to signing and guarding.
 Survey the works to be done, picking the best position/route to excavate, taking
note the required size of your excavation, the vicinity of previous excavations and
the position of the other utility services.
 Read the service prints and conduct a survey as far as practicable mark all services in
the vicinity of the excavation.
 Mark the surface to be excavated.
 Erect road works guarding and signs.
 Conduct trail holes to locate existing services and to see what effect they might have
on the works.
 Gas test on any Jointing Chambers directly prior to entering and periodically during
the works.
BREAKING THE SURFACE & EXCAVATING
 Identify the area marked for excavation by the Site Engineer.
 Where practicable, for large excavations in blacktop the surface shall be cut with a
suitable road saw, however for small excavations a steel saw can be used.
 All excavation equipment used should be suitable for the work undertaken.
Mechanical excavating equipment should not be used neat other services.
 Any service damages caused by previous contractor should be reported to the site
engineer immediately.
 Excavated materials must be strictly controlled during all stages of the works,
ensuring that it is stored at a practical and safe distance from the excavation, within
the road works guarding.
 Material being collected by a grab wagon should be done in such a way to ensure
that minimum disruption is caused to pedestrians, road traffic or any other 3 rd
parties.
 Materials for re-use e.g. topsoil and granular materials, etc. should be kept free from
contamination and where necessary protected from weather conditions.
 Control measures to prevent excavation collapse will be identified by a site specific
risk assessment.
 Ensure that all apparatus is protected from damage prior to and during the works.
 All excavated services shall be adequately supported to prevent damage occurring to
them.
SIZE AND DEPTH OF EXCAVATION

NEW TRACK WORK

 Track width - The width of the excavation should be the width of the duct formation,
plus 150mm (75mm + duct formation + 75mm).
 Gardens & Cultivated Ground – 450mm ( 45mm) depth of cover over the installed
duct.
 Domestic Driveway, Footway & Soft Surface - the depth of excavation should be:
 Single way & 2 ways - 350mm ( 35mm) of cover over the installed duct.
 3-way up to & Inc. 20 ways - 450mm ( 45mm) of cover over the installed duct.
 Multi-way - over 20 ways and building lead in - 600mm ( 60mm) of cover over the
installed duct

 Carriageway - the depth of excavation should be:

 Up to & Inc. 20 ways - 600mm ( 60mm) of cover over the installed duct.
 Multi-way - over 20 ways and building lead in - 900mm ( 90mm) of cover over the
installed duct
 Footway/Carriageway Interface – where the footway moves into the road 600mm
of cover shall be provided as it enters the carriageway.

PREPARING THE TRENCH

 The trench bottom shall be free from rock and stones.

 If this is not possible the trench shall be excavated slightly deeper and a layer of
sharp sand or earth free from stones shall be laid and tamped on the trench base.

TRENCH FOR DIRECT BURIED CABLE

 The traditional means of cable installation for high voltage cables in urban and rural
areas is by direct burial.
 Trenches approximately 1.5m wide and 1.2m deep are required for each single cable
circuit.
 A thermally stable backfill of cement bound sand is used to ensure a known thermal
conductivity around the cables in order to maintain the cable rating (capacity to
carry current).
 A large cable swathe is normally required which can be up to 65m in width
depending on the number of circuits and size of conductor to be installed.
 Joint bays are necessary at intervals of approximately 500–1,000m to allow for the
jointing of the individual sections of cable.
 In these areas a widening of the easement corridor may be required for the
arrangement of joints.
  Direct burial of cables involves excavating trenches into which the cables are
installed on a bed of selected sand or cement bound sand with the use of winches or
power rollers.
 Sheet piling or timber is used to support the sides of the trenches.
 Reinstatement of the excavated trench is then carried out using approved backfill
material placed directly around the cables with protection covers placed above the
cables in the excavation.
 All backfill materials such as cement bound sand/ selected sand must be carefully
compacted around the cables to ensure no air pockets exist.
 The presence of any air pockets will degrade the cable system rating. Regular tests
are carried out during this process to ensure the correct level of compaction is
achieved.
 There are safety and environmental issues associated with the installation of direct
buried cables.
 These include disruption to traffic, excessive noise, vibration, visual intrusion and
dust generation.
 The use of heavy plant and construction traffic will also be a factor.
 Working alongside open excavations with heavy plant and construction equipment
also imposes various safety risks.
 Direct burial is normally the cheapest method for the installation of underground
cables where restrictions on land use are not an issue.
 Where there is a requirement to cross major roads or through urban areas the costs
of this type of major excavation in terms of traffic management, construction and
legal restrains can be considerable.

DUCTED METHOD

 An alternative, but more expensive method to direct burial is installation using ducts.
  The advantage of a ducted installation is that the ducts can be installed in shorter
sections along the cable route leaving shorter sections of exposed trench, reducing
risk and disruption to the general public.
 Most cable systems have specific cable designs and therefore cable can only be
manufactured once the contract has been agreed.
 This may cause long delays. Installing ducts has the advantage of saving installation
time as all the ducts can be installed before the cable delivery.

TRENCH WITH BOTTOM SLAB

 For surface trough installation, a trench is excavated and a concrete base is laid in
the bottom of the trench to support the troughs.
 The troughs are laid at a depth so that only the trough cover is visible.
 The cables are laid directly within the troughs, which are capped with reinforced
concrete covers.
 Troughs provide mechanical protection for the cables and improved thermal
conductivity
TRENCHING FOR UNDERGROUND PIPING

TRANSPORTATION AND HANDLING OF PIPES

 From the lay-down area to the trench site, the pipes shall be transported through
trailers. Spreader bars may be used when multiple support locations are required.
 Prior to unloading of pipes from trailers, all items shall be inspected for any Visual /
transportation damages.
 Single pipes must be unloaded and handled separately (one at a time). Use pliable
Straps, slings or ropes to lift single pipes. 
 Do not use steel cables or chains to lift or transport the pipe. Pipe sections can be
lifted with only one support.
 Care shall be taken to prevent pipes from rolling or falling from flatbed trailer and
this shall be attained by using proper supports, chocks.
 If at any time during handling or installation of the pipe, any damage such as cracks,
Delamination or fracture occurs, the pipe should be repaired before the Section is
installed.
 The rubber gaskets received along with the pipes and fittings shall be stored in
Shelter with original packing until it is used at site.
 The gaskets must be protected from exposures to grease or oils, which are
Petroleum derivatives, and from solvents and other deleterious substances. 
 Lubricant is special vegetable soap (free from grease / petroleum products).
 Only this lubricant shall be used.
PIPES PREPARATION AT STORAGE AREA

 It is convenient and more practical to fix one coupling at each pip e end prior to
lower into the trench. Following is the method to join the coupling: Clean the
coupling thoroughly from inside, specially the internal groove, from dirt, grease or
any material deposition.
 Insert the gasket into the grooves, leaving two or more uniform loops of rubber
(depending on pipe diameter) extending out of the groove.
 Do not put any lubricant in the coupling grooves or on the gasket at this stage. There
should be a minimum of one loop for each 450 mm of gasket ring circumference.
 With uniform pressure, push each loop of the rubber gasket into the gasket groove.
 When installed, pull carefully on the gasket in the radial direction around the whole
circumference to check for well-distributed compression of the gasket.
 Apply lubricant on gasket that will facilitate easily fixing of coupling to the pipe.
 Also, apply a thin film of lubricant on pipe spigot (DOS area) & align the coupling with
pipe. Never use a petroleum based lubricant for FRP pipe Jointing.
 Fix a cross bar on the coupling face .Use two nylon slings & fix the come-along jacks
(pullers) at each side of the pipe spring line. The puller capacity shall be 3 to 5 tons
range.
 Ensure that the coupling & pipe is aligned.
 Start tightening the puller from both ends same time. The coupling will insert the
pipe spigot gradually.
 Make sure that the black home line marked on the pipe is matching equally in
circumference.
 Loose the pullers & move to other coupling
BED AND PIPE ZONE BACKFILL MATERIALS

Most coarse-grained soils, (gravel, crushed stone, good clean murrum and sand) are the
recommended bedding & pipe zone backfill materials. Gravel is easier to compact than sand
and allows the pipe to be installed deeper, if required.

Use of Native Soils

 Where native soil is used as pipe zone backfill, the foll owing restrictions apply:
 No rocks greater than maximum gravel size
 No soil clumps greater than 2 times the maximum gravel size.
 No organic material. d)
 No debris (tires, bottles, metals, etc.).
 Where compaction is specified: the native soil must be granular in nature.

PIPE BEDDING

 Pipe bedding material shall be sand or gravel in accordance to the requirements.

 The bedding shall he placed after the trench bottom is compacted to provide proper
support. Minimum compaction of the bed shall be 90% Standard Proctor Density
(70% of maximum relative density for crushed rock, crushed stone or gravels).
 The bed must be over-excavated (manual digging is enough) at each coupling joint
location to ensure that the pipe will have a continuous support and does not rest on
 the couplings. However, this area must be properly bedded and backfilled after the
joint assembly is completed.

PIPE JOINTING IN THE TRENCH

 Position the crane near the trench (safe distance).

 Unload the pipe and place into the trench.
 Make sure that the bedding is mechanically compacted prior to pipe laying as per the
required specification.
 After placing the first pipe bring the second pipe near the pipe placed and install it
(by pulling to chain) with clamps, chain blocks/pullers

BACKFILLING PIPE

 When gravel or crushed stone is used as backfill, immediate backfilling after joining
is desirable, as it will prevent two serious hazards, floating of pipe and thermal
movements.
 Floating of pipe can damage the pipe and create unnecessary reinstallation costs.
This may not be the case in this project as the water table is not encountered.
 Thermal movement caused by exposure to the elements can cause the loss of seal
due to movement of several lengths acting on one joint.
 Proper selection, placement, and compaction of pipe zone backfill are important for
controlling the vertical deflection and are critical for pipe performance.
 Attention must be paid so that the backfill material is not contaminated with debris
or other foreign materials that could damage the pipe or cause loss of side support.
 During backfilling, the granular material should flow completely under the pipe to
provide full support.
 A blunt tool maybe used to push and compact the backfill under the pipe.
 Proper backfilling should be done in 150 mm to 300mm lifts depending on backfill
material and compaction material, 300mm lifts will be adequate since gravel is
relatively easy to compact. Sand needs more compaction effort s.
 The compaction of sandy backfill is most easily accomplished when the material is at
or near its optimum moisture content. When backfilling reaches pipe spring-line, all
compaction shall be done first near the trench sides and proceeds towards the pipe.
 It is recommended that placing and compacting of the pipe zone backfill is done in
such a way as to cause the pipe to ovalize slightly in the vertical direction
THRUST BLOCKS

 RCC thrust blocks will be constructed at the places of bends, tees & reducer.
 It is recommended to wrap a band of rubber around the pipe prior to placement of any
concrete.
 Rubber should protrude (25 mm) from the pipe. Rubber thickness 10 mm & of 50
Durometer. Drawings will be used for construction.
 It is always recommended to cast thrust blocks as laying progresses. Before the hydro test all
thrust blocks should be completed. It is always recommended to have coupling on two edges
when pipe comes out of thrust block.
 Immediately after thrust blocks we should provide one small pipe piece (1 to 2 metre length)
with coupling on each side of block to take care of uneven settlement.

BUOYANCY

 Minimum cover required on pipe crown to avoid upliftment of empty pipes in high
water table areas is one meter or one diameter whichever is more.
 If sufficient cover is not available and the area has the possibility of high water table
RCC precast blocks or in situ blocks of required weight are to be used to counteract
unbalance uplift forces.
CONCRETE ENCASEMENT

 When pipes (or fittings) must be encased in concrete such as for thrust blocks, stress
blocks, or to carry unusual loads, specific additions to the installation procedures
must be observed.

POST INSTALLATION CHECKS

CHECKING THE INSTALLED PIPES

 Procedure for checking the initial diametrical deflection for installed pipes:
 Complete backfilling of grade.
 Complete removal of temporary sheeting (if used)
 Turn off the dewatering system (if used)
 Measure and record the pipes vertical diameter. Calculate vertical deflection.