Standard Installations
By the 1970’s, ACPA members realized that new analytical knowledge and field experience were available that could lead to improvements in understanding the structural behavior of buried pipe in its installed condition and thus, lead to improvements in design practice for buried concrete pipe. In view of this, ACPA instituted a long-range research program with the overall objective of evaluating the performance of concrete pipe-soil installations and improving design practice for pipe-soil installations. The structural behavior of these installations was examined using state-of-the-art analytical tools of structural and geotechnical engineering and computer science and by comparing the results of analytical studies with observations and measurements on prototype pipe in both three-edge bearing tests and field installations. These research results provide the basis for a more advanced design practice for pipe-soil installations based on direct design of the pipe for its installed conditions. They also provide the basis for recommending standardized installation types that differ significantly from those originally developed by Marston and Spangler and currently used in indirect design practice.
