A Novel Construction Method for Buried Pipes using Geosynthetics

Discussion of “Laboratory Study on Geosynthetic Protection of Buried Steel-Reinforced HDPE Pipes from Static Loading” by Ryan Corey, Jie Han, Deep K. Khatri, and Robert L. Parsons

“…As noted by Bauer (1994) the use of more than one layer of geogrid geosynthetic of similar length reduces considerably the pressure transmitted to the underlying pipe. while the use of nonwoven geotextile geosynthetic of varying rigidities over a buried pipe using the so-called Geovala approach developed by Bueno et al (2005) showed smaller vertical stresses than those measured in the conventional installation, thereby demonstrating the importance of geosynthetic reinforcement in reducing applied stresses on buried pipes.…”

“…Noteable previous studies on the benefits of geosynthetics was conducted at Carleton University, Ottawa, in 1983 and1987 under the direction of Professor Gunther Bauer, who reported the results of full-scale laboratory tests investigating the use of geogrid geosynthetic under static and repeated load conditions in controlling settlement (Bauer 1994). More recently, Bueno et al (2005) reported preliminary results on a novel construction method to reduce vertical stresses on buried pipes. This research effort done on both small-scale and large-scale facilities showed that the vertical stresses acting on top of the pipe can be significantly reduced by the use of geosynthetic reinforcement.…”