Significance and Use

This guide may be used as a reference of acceptable open-cut construction practices for the proper installation of buried fiberglass and thermoplastic pipe. This guide may be used as follows:

4.1.1 Installation contractors have an awareness of the level of workmanship required and use this information for bidding purposes and during construction.

4.1.2 Construction inspectors have a reference of acceptable installation practices.

4.1.3 Specification writers may use this guide as a reference in contract documents.

4.1.4 Designers may review this information during planning and design for factors to consider in the preparation of plans and specifications.

4.1.5 The owner of the pipeline may use this guide as a reference for restoration of proper pipe support and embedment when original construction is disturbed due to repairs, modifications, or construction of adjacent or crossing pipelines or cables.

This guide should not be used to replace project specification requirements, manufacturerrecommendations, plumbing codes, building codes, or ASTM installation standards, but may be used to supplement that information.

1. Scope

1.1 This guide describes installation techniques and considerations for open-cut construction of buried pipe. Although this guide was developed for plastic pipe, the concepts of providing the appropriate soil support, care in handling, correct joining techniques, proper soil compaction methods, and prevention of installation damage may apply to any pipe.

1.1.1 Plastic pipe refers to thermoplastic and fiberglass pipe.

1.1.2 Thermoplastic pipe refers to pipe fabricated from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), acrylonitrile-butadiene styrene (ABS), polybutylene (PB), or polypropylene (PP). A list of ASTM specifications for these products is given in .

1.1.3 Fiberglass pipe refers to a glass-fiber-reinforced thermosetting-resin pipe. A list of ASTM specifications for these products is given in . Note 1 cannot be considered inclusive because there may be unlisted, recently adopted ASTM specifications for new products that may be installed using this guide.

Only a few of the ASTM specifications listed in include the associated fittings. While this guide applies to the installation of pipe, couplings, and fittings, no attempt was made to list all the possible fitting specifications that may be used in conjunction with the pipe specifications. Consult each specification or manufacturer for appropriate fitting standards.

1.1.4For simplification, the term pipe will be used in this document to mean pipe sections, fittings, and couplings.

1.2 This guide contains general construction information applicable for plastic pipe and supplements the installation standards for the various types of pipe as described in Practices D 2321, D 2774, D 3839, F 690, F 1176, and Guide F 645.

1.3 Flexible pipe, such as thermoplastic and fiberglass, are typically designed to rely on the stiffness of the soil surrounding the pipe for support. The contract documents should describe the requirements of an appropriate soil support system. The construction practices described in this guide can be instrumental in attaining the required soil stiffness.

1.3.1 A discussion of the interaction between a buried pipe and the surrounding soil and the importance of attaining proper soil support is in .

1.3.2 Following these guidelines will be helpful in preventing local deformations in the pipe.

1.4 This guide does not cover underwater installation, pipe that needs to be supported on piling, perforated pipe used for drainage, or gas pipelines.

1.5 Pipelines through areas described as 'expansive soils,' 'collapsing soils,' landfills or water-logged land (such as swamps) should be constructed using site-specific installation procedures and are not discussed in this guide.

1.6 This guide is not intended to cover all situations. Specific pipe characteristics, fluid transported, local site conditions, environmental concerns, or manufacturer's recommendations may require different guidelines.

1.7 The construction practices presented in this guide may be affected by the installation requirements of owners, specifying organizations, or regulatory agencies for pipelines crossing roads and highways, other pipelines or cables, or waterways such as streams, drainage channels, or floodways.

1.8 Culverts or pipe that are used as passages through water retaining embankments (for example, earth dams) may be constructed using the principles of this guide, if appropriate provisions are made to prevent water movement along the outside of the pipe (using impervious soils, cutoff collars, head walls, etc.).

1.9 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The inch-pound units in parentheses are given for information only.

There is no similar or equivalent ISO standard covering the primary subject matter of this guide.

1.10 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

C94/C94M Specification for Ready-Mixed Concrete

D8 Terminology Relating to Materials for Roads and Pavements

D653 Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids

D698 Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of Soil Using Standard Effort (12 400 ft-lbf/ft3 (600 kN-m/m3))

D883 Terminology Relating to Plastics

D1556 Test Method for Density and Unit Weight of Soil in Place by Sand-Cone Method

D1557 Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of Soil Using Modified Effort (56,000 ft-lbf/ft3 (2,700 kN-m/m3))

D1600 Terminology for Abbreviated Terms Relating to Plastics

D2167 Test Method for Density and Unit Weight of Soil in Place by the Rubber Balloon Method

D2216 Test Methods for Laboratory Determination of Water (Moisture) Content of Soil and Rock by Mass

D2321 Practice for Underground Installation of Thermoplastic Pipe for Sewers and Other Gravity-Flow Applications

D2412 Test Method for Determination of External Loading Characteristics of Plastic Pipe by Parallel-Plate Loading

D2487 Practice for Classification of Soils for Engineering Purposes (Unified Soil Classification System)

D2488 Practice for Description and Identification of Soils (Visual-Manual Procedure)

D2657 Practice for Heat Fusion Joining of Polyolefin Pipe and Fittings

D2774 Practice for Underground Installation of Thermoplastic Pressure Piping

D2855 Practice for Making Solvent-Cemented Joints with Poly(Vinyl Chloride) (PVC) Pipe and Fittings

D2922 Test Methods for Density of Soil and Soil-Aggregate in Place by Nuclear Methods (Shallow Depth)

D3017 Test Method for Water Content of Soil and Rock in Place by Nuclear Methods (Shallow Depth)

D3839 Guide for Underground Installation of Fiberglass (Glass-FiberReinforced Thermosetting-Resin) Pipe

D4253 Test Methods for Maximum Index Density and Unit Weight of Soils Using a Vibratory Table

D4254 Test Methods for Minimum Index Density and Unit Weight of Soils and Calculation of Relative Density

D4564 Test Method for Density and Unit Weight of Soil in Place by the Sleeve Method

D4653 Test Method for Total Chlorides in Leather

D4914 Test Methods for Density and Unit Weight of Soil and Rock in Place by the Sand Replacement Method in a Test Pit

D4944 Test Method for Field Determination of Water (Moisture) Content of Soil by the Calcium Carbide Gas Pressure Tester

D4959 Test Method for Determination of Water (Moisture) Content of Soil By Direct Heating

D5030 Test Method for Density of Soil and Rock in Place by the Water Replacement Method in a Test Pit

D5080 Test Method for Rapid Determination of Percent Compaction

F402 Practice for Safe Handling of Solvent Cements, Primers, and Cleaners Used for Joining Thermoplastic Pipe and Fittings

F412 Terminology Relating to Plastic Piping Systems

F477 Specification for Elastomeric Seals (Gaskets) for Joining Plastic Pipe

F645 Guide for Selection, Design, and Installation of Thermoplastic Water- Pressure Piping Systems

F690 Practice for Underground Installation of Thermoplastic Pressure Piping Irrigation Systems

F913 Specification for Thermoplastic Elastomeric Seals (Gaskets) for Joining Plastic Pipe

F1176 Practice for Design and Installation of Underground Thermoplastic Irrigation Systems With Maximum Working Pressure of 125 psi

F1417 Practice for Installation Acceptance of Plastic Non-pressure Sewer Lines Using Low-Pressure Air

F2620 Practice for Heat Fusion Joining of Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings

American Water Works Association (AWWA) Standards

Keywords

backfill; compaction control; embedment; fiberglass pipe; field tests; pipe; soil classification; thermoplastic pipe; underground installation;

ICS Code

ICS Number Code 23.040.20 (Plastic pipes)

DOI: 10.1520/F1668-08

ASTM International is a member of CrossRef.

ASTM F1668