A Study of the Deformation of Flexible Pipes Buried Under Model Reinforced Sand

A series of model tests were conducted to investigate the effects of installing reinforcement layer above the pipe on the deformation characteristics of PVC pipes. The number of reinforcement layers, types of reinforcements, and burial depths of the pipe were varied in a number of tests. The test results showed a significant increase in bearing capacities when reinforcements were introduced, while the reduced settlement caused by improved bearing capacities with buried reinforcements had little effect on resistance against pipe deflection. When the burial depth of flexible pipe was shallower than the width of the loading area, the effectiveness of reinforcements in reducing pipe deflection increased as the load became larger.