Structural behavior analysis of draining road systems.

Author(s)

Cristiane Salerno Schmitz

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Politécnica (EP/BC)
• Defense date: 2002-12-13

Examining board members

Liedi Legi Bariani Bernucci; Maria Eugenia Gimenez Boscov; Washington Peres Nunez

• Advisor: Liedi Legi Bariani Bernucci

Abstract

This work aimed at the knowledge of the structural behavior of a ribbed flexible plastic buried pipe system undergoing permanent loads on the piping and mobile loads, as the ones deriving from the traffic of vehicles. For this study, full scale ditches were built at the DAER-RS/UFRGS Pavement Research and Test Area in Porto Alegre, RS, where there is a equipment for simulating traffic, used for applying both static and cyclic loads on the ditch surface. The controled independent variables are the involving material density and the height of this material on the pipe. The variables measured are the pipe deflection under simulator load and the permanent displacement caused by the soil load on the pipe. The compaction control of involving material was carried out with three different types of equipment and results were compared. The results for pemanent deflection and displacement were used to calculate the Modulus of Soil Reaction (E') values of the involving material and these were compared to the ones found in the literature. The pipe elastic behavior under repeated load was observed, and where the pipe is installed too close to the surface, the system deflections are of such magnitude that they affect the pavement built over the ditch. The careful compaction of the involving material proved to be of paramount importance to a good structural performance of the flexible buried pipe system. (AU)