Concrete Pipe Use Manual

This page is the spine of the handbook. Everything below is a working section rather than a chapter heading, and each one is written to be read on its own — a specifier checking a joint requirement should not have to read forty pages of preamble to find it.

Introduction

• Introduction — rigid versus flexible conduit, what the specification framework is for, and the six properties usually bundled together as "durability".

Storm sewers and culverts

• Storm sewers and culverts: introduction — what each system is for and what it must therefore resist.
• Applicable specifications and recommended use — ASTM C 14, C 76 and C 655 circular pipe; C 506 arch, C 507 elliptical and C 789 / C 850 box sections; where each belongs.
• Storm sewers: pipe class required by diameter and fill height — selection tables in English and metric units, installation Types 1 to 7.
• Pipe culverts: circular pipe class tables — Table IA, English and metric.
• Pipe culverts: elliptical and arch class tables — Table IIB, English and metric, with span, rise and minimum fill height.

Sanitary sewers

• Recommended standard specification — scope, referenced documents, materials, excavation, bedding, installation, backfill and acceptance testing.
• Leakage allowances and protective linings — plant testing, field testing, what an infiltration limit is actually buying, and lining and coating systems.

Joints

• Joints, gaskets and sealants — cement mortar and mastic, ASTM C 443 rubber gasket joints, C 361 low-head pressure joints, C 877 external sealing bands and C 990 preformed flexible sealants.

Manholes, catch basins and inlets

• Manholes, catch basins and inlets — ASTM C 478 precast sections, C 923 resilient connectors, risers, cones, flat slab tops, steps and precast bases.

Flared end sections and fittings

• Flared end sections — sizes, grates and toe blocks.
• Fittings: bends, tees, wyes, transitions and curves — how each is fabricated and what limits the achievable radius.

Testing

• Plant testing and field testing — the three-edge bearing test under ASTM C 497, hydrostatic joint testing, and the C 969, C 1103 and C 924 field acceptance tests.

Special considerations

• Hydraulic coefficients, industrial wastes and hydrogen sulfide — Manning's n by system type, acid limits, and how sulfide attack actually proceeds.
• Load carrying capacity, significance of cracking and jacking — why a 0.01 in crack is a design outcome rather than a defect, and what governs jacked installations.

Design aids

• Design aids and further reading — the national design data sheet series on loads, sewer hydraulics, culvert hydraulics and installation, plus the principal manuals. Federal culvert design guidance is published by the Federal Highway Administration.

List of standards

• Standards index: pipe products — ASTM designations with AASHTO equivalents and size ranges.
• Standards index: box sections, joints, connectors and testing.

Dimensions and weights

• Circular reinforced concrete pipe, ASTM C 76 — Wall B and Wall C, standard and large sizes, English and metric.
• Reinforced concrete elliptical pipe, ASTM C 507 — English and metric.
• Precast reinforced concrete box sections, ASTM C 789 and C 850 — English and metric.

Reference links

• Reference links — standards bodies, agencies and technical publishers, each checked to resolve.