Theoretical and Numerical Study on the Three-Edge Bearing Capacity of Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe

Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP) is a composite pipe structure commonly subjected to earth pressure, internal pressure, and ground loads. To confirm the bearing capacity of PCCP by using the in-direct design method, one of the most important experiments is the Three-Edge Bearing (TEB) test. A rational theoretical analysis method and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) are developed in this study because the TEB test is costly and difficult to conduct. The proposed theoretical analysis method and Finite Element (FE) method can be used to calculate the internal force, the displacement, the cracking load, and the bearing capacity of PCCP under the TEB load. In addition, a parametric study is carried out by using the validated theoretical analysis and FEA method. It is found that the concrete strength, the prestressing level, and the radius-to-thickness ratio of the steel cylinder affects the bearing capacity of PCCP under the TEB load. Furthermore, the proposed theoretical analysis method can be used to calculate the bearing capacity of other kinds of rigid pipes under the three-edge bearing load.