Vehicle velocity effect on the structural response of buried flexible pipe: experimental study

An urgent need to investigate the effects of the vehicles' characteristics on city infrastructure has arisen as a result of the development of roads and transportation, including the construction of new roads and the rise in vehicle numbers brought about by global population growth. In this research, an experimental study is performed to examine the effect of vehicle velocity on the behavior of buried Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) pipe under traffic load (moving load). The moving-wheel load has been exerted using a small-scale model with three velocities (5, 10, and 15 km/hr) to compare the strains and deformations occurring at the apex of the buried pipe. The pipe was instrumented with the data acquisition system, including installing the strain gages to read the strains at the pipe circumference as well as Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDTs) to read the displacement in the same locations. It was revealed that as the velocity rises, the displacement and strain fall. When the velocity increased from 5 to 10 km/hr and from 10 to 15 km/hr, the decrease percentage in the pipe’s apex strain was 26.9 and 3.3% respectively, while the decrease percentage in the pipe’s apex displacement was 29.5 and 12% respectively. In addition, as the velocity rose from 5 to 10 km/hr and from 10 to 15 km/hr the decrease percentage in the pipe’s spring line displacement was 18.17 and 28.58% respectively, while the decrease percentage in the pipe’s spring line strain was 11.36 and 2.05% respectively. As a result, it is not necessary to restrict vehicle speed on roads including buried structures to prevent damage, as occurs in traffic accidents caused by excessive speed.