Pipe Design, Testing,

&
Specifications

Jim Goddard
JimGoddard3, LLC.
JimGoddard3@gmail.com1

Design & Selection

Whats Important:
1. Hydraulic Capacity
2. Structural Design
3. Durability
4. Installation
5. Quality

Hydraulic Capacity
The anticipated design flows determine the
size of pipe or structure required. For
culverts or storm sewers, design flows are
normally determined from rainfall intensity
information available from the USGS,
NOAA, or BuRec.
For sanitary sewer designs, the number
and type/size of connections and length of
the collectors.
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Hydraulic Design
For most culvert
installations, inlet
control determines
the capacity of the
pipe. Mannings n
value has no impact.
The flow capacity of the
pipe seen here is the
same regardless of
pipe type.
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Hydraulic Capacity
Flow capacity of storm sewers, sanitary
sewers, and longer, relatively flat culverts
is determined by outlet control, and
Manning's n determines capacity.
Manning's n IS NOT constant for any pipe
type, but varies with the velocity and
diameter of the pipe.

Manning's "n" VS. Liner Roughness

0.015
y = 0.0145x + 0.01
R2 = 0.7016

3 FPS
0.014

10 FPS
15 FPS
Linear (3 FPS)

0.013

Linear (10 FPS)

Manning's "n"

Linear (15 FPS)

0.012
y = 0.0108x + 0.0087
R2 = 0.7796
0.011
y = 0.008x + 0.0088
R2 = 0.8766

0.01

0.009

0.008
0

0.05

0.1

0.15
Liner Roughness (inches)

0.2

0.25

0.3

Hydraulic Design
All pipe industry tests are done in the lab
with near perfect alignment, tight joints,
clean water, and new, clean pipe.
In the real world, none of this is true.
Have you ever seen a 2 year old pipe that
did not have some debris or build-up in it?
Thus, for smooth interior pipe the design
n should be a minimum of 0.013 to
0.015!
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Hydraulic Design
Available diameters of available pipe types varies:
1. Depending on local capabilities, concrete pipe
is available up to 10 diameter or more.
2. Corrugated steel pipe is generally available
from 6 up to small bridges (40 or more)
3. Thermoplastic pipe is generally available from
very small diameters (2) through 10 or
greater depending on pipe type.
Available diameters may determine the pipe type
or types specified.
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Structural Design
AASHTO LRFD Section 12 provides current
structural design methodologies for
reinforce concrete pipe, corrugated metal
pipe, and thermoplastic pipe (both PVC
and HDPE). The determination of the
loads on these buried pipes comes from
LRFD Section 3.
Both dead loads and live loads must be
considered.
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Live Loads

Live Loads

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Cooper E80 Live Loads

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29 Years of Highway Loads

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Dead Loads - Testing

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Pennsylvania Deep Burial Study

23 Years of Data 100 Feet Deep

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Utah DOT Legacy Parkway

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Utah DOT Legacy Parkway

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FEMA P-675 Plastic Pipe in Dams

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Structural Design
Every pipe type has different load
or structural limits.
Site loading conditions; depth of fill,
magnitude of live loads; may
determine pipe types to be
considered.
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Durability
Every pipe type has different durability limits.
Generally, the environmental conditions
effecting pipe durability are:
1. pH
2. Salts
3. Soil chemistry (sulfides, chlorides, etc.)
4. Water chemistry
5. Abrasion
6. Soil resistivity
7. Stray currents
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Supporting Durability Information

Information on material selection criteria is
available in:
AASHTO Highway Drainage Guidelines,
Volume 14, Culvert Inspection, Material
Selection and Rehabilitation Guideline
and/or

NCHRP Project 20-5, Topic 25-21, Service

Life of Drainage Pipes.
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Quoted Permissible pH Range for Various Pipe Materials

CMP 6 - 9.5

RCP 4 - 10

HDPE 1.5 - 14

6
8
pH Levels

10

12

14
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CALTRANS
HIGHWAY DESIGN MANUAL
Section 850
50 Year Min. Maintenance-Free Life
Pipe Material

pH Range

GALV STEEL
ALUM. STEEL
ALUMINUM
CONCRETE
HDPE

Resistivity Range

6-8
5.5-8
5.5-8.5
5.5-9
No Limits

>3000
>1500
>1500
No Limits
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PennDOT I-99 pH<3

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HDPE, PVC and Vitrified Clay

unaffected by most chemicals

Concrete affected by road salts, low pH, soluble

chlorides and sulfates. Deterioration may be
accelerated when subjected to freeze/thaw action.
Aluminum affected by low and high pH, electrochemical corrosion and abrasion.
Corrugated metal pipes affected by low and high
pH, electro-chemical corrosion, acids, alkalis and
dissolved salts.
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Installation
Current AASHTO Construction Standards
include installation requirements for the
dominant pipe types:
Section 27 for corrugated metal pipe;
Section 28 for concrete pipe;
Section 30 for thermoplastic pipe (PVC &
HDPE).
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Installation
Post installation inspection of ALL pipe types
should be required, with different concerns
for different pipe types:
Rigid pipe should be inspected for cracking,
joint tightness and integrity, alignment;
Flexible pipe should be inspected for
deflection, joint tightness and integrity,
alignment.
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Installation Time
Costs associated with the time to completion
of an installation has become more of a
factor. Traffic disruption, detours, and
inconvenience to the public is not being
considered by several DOTs in their bid
evaluations.
Innovative installation methods can have
significant impact.
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Installation Delaware DOT

28

Delaware DOT

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AASHTO Pipe Standards

In 1972, the only pipe types covered by AASHTO
Specifications were reinforced concrete pipe and
corrugated steel pipe. Today there are 5
material types, including:

Reinforced concrete pipe

Corrugated steel pipe
Corrugated Aluminum pipe
PolyVinyl Chloride pipe
High Density Polyethylene pipe
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AASHTO Pipe Standards

Concrete Pipe
AASHTO Standard
Subcommittee on
Materials

AASHTO M 86
AASHTO M 170
AASHTO M 175
AASHTO M 176
AASHTO M 206
AASHTO M 207
AASHTO M 242

Corrugated Metal
Pipe

Polyethylene Pipe

PVC Pipe

AASHTO M 36
AASHTO M 167
AASHTO M 190
AASHTO M 196
AASHTO M 197
AASHTO M 218
AASHTO M 219
AASHTO M 245
AASHTO M 246
AASHTO M 274
AASHTO M 289

AASHTO M 252
AASHTO M 294

AASHTO M 278
AASHTO M 304

Subcommittee on
Bridges and Structures
Design

AASHTO LRFD
Bridge Design
Specifications Section
12

AASHTO LRFD
Bridge Design
Specifications Section
12

AASHTO LRFD
Bridge Design
Specifications Section
12

AASHTO LRFD
Bridge Design
Specifications Section
12

Subcommittee on
Bridges and Structures
Construction

AASHTO LRFD
Bridge Construction
Specifications
Section 27

AASHTO LRFD
Bridge Construction
Specifications
Section 26

AASHTO LRFD
Bridge Construction
Specifications
Section 30

AASHTO LRFD
Bridge Construction
Specifications
Section 30

National Transportation
Product Evaluation
Program

None

None

NTPEP for
Thermoplastic Pipe

None

Notes: 1. Only one of the four pipe types has in place AASHTO Materials Specifications, AASHTO Design Standards, AASHTO
Construction and Inspection Standards, and an AASHTO NTPEP for quality assurance; HDPE pipe.
1.The corrugated metal pipe AASHTO Materials Specifications include both fabricated pipe and metal sheet or plate
standards and coating standards for both steel and aluminum; whereas material standards are within the pipe standards
for concrete pipe, HDPE pipe, and PVC pipe.
1.Design standards for all four listed pipe types are contained in the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications,
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Section 12.
4. The AASHTO NTPEP for Thermoplastic Pipe lists over 100 test reports from 11 producing companies (as of 1/2/2010).

Product Quality
Independent, 3rd Party testing should be
required for all pipe types.
The AASHTO NTPEP might be the best
example of such a program. Currently, the
HDPE pipe program has been in place for
about 8 years. Reinforcing steel is also
included in NTPEP. Other pipe types
should, and eventually will be included.
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Pipe Type Selection

From Wealth of Nations
by Adam Smith in 1776:

Competition reduces costs

and improves quality

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Competition
Competition is not only the
basis of protection to the
consumer, but is the incentive
to progress.
Herbert Hoover

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Pipe selection
There is no one pipe type appropriate for
every installation or application.
Specifying multiple pipe types, where
applicable, reduces costs.

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Thank You Any Questions?

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