Buy article PDF
The purchased file will be sent to you
via email after the payment is completed.
US$ 35
|
Structural Engineering and Mechanics Volume 40, Number 5, December10 2011 , pages 655-663 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/sem.2011.40.5.655 |
|
|
|
Loss of strength in asbestos-cement water pipes due to leaching |
||
Lluis Gil, Marco A. Perez, Ernest Bernat and Juan J. Cruz
|
||
| Abstract | ||
| Asbestos-cement is a material with valuable strength and durability. It was extensively used for water distribution pipes across the world from the 1950s until the early 1980s. The network of pipes in this case study dates from the 1970s, and after more than 30 to 40 years of service, some pipes have been found to break under common service pressure with no apparent reason. A set of mechanical tests was performed including bending, compression, pressure and crushing tests. Microscopy analysis was also used to understand the material behaviour. Tests showed that there was a clear loss of strength in the pipes and that the safety factor was under the established threshold in most of the specimens. Microscopy results showed morphological damage to the pipes. The loss of strength was attributed to a leaching effect. Leaching damages the cement matrix and reduces the frictional interfacial shear stress. | ||
| Key Words | ||
| asbestos-cement; failure | ||
| Address | ||
| Lluis Gil, Marco A. Perez, Ernest Bernat and Juan J. Cruz: Dept. of Strength of Materials and Engineering Structures, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona Tech., ETSEIAT Campus Terrassa, c/ Colom, 11 08222 Terrassa, Spain | ||