Field-Welded Joint Strength Verification Tests for Bar-Wrapped Concrete Cylinder Pipe

Hydrostatic thrust in Bar-Wrapped Concrete Cylinder Pipe (BRCCP) pipelines is usually resisted by field welding a sufficient number of adjacent pipe joints. Three commonly used welded joint configurations are: the gasketed external field-welded joint with a filler bar placed in the field; internal field-welded joint with the gasket groove kept intact; and internal field-welded joint with the grooved end of the spigot cutoff at the manufacturing plant will be illustrated. In 1962, a total of 36 tests were conducted at Ameron’s South Gate Plant on 21 different joint configurations using 1-1/2-in.-wide welded test specimens and four joint configurations were also tested as full ring test assemblies. In 1989, a total of 30 tests on 8 joint configurations were conducted at Ameron’s Engineering Experimental Center in South Gate, CA, using 1-1/2-in.-wide welded test specimens and five configurations were also tested as full ring test assemblies. Description of the 1989 tests and results will be presented. The 1962 and 1989 tests and earlier field observations were the basis for establishing the BWCCP welded joint design criteria given in Ameron’s Design Manual 303, Chapter 9. The 1989 tests performed are described and results presented along with overall summary and recommendations.