AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE ANTI-SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF A U-PVC WATER SUPPLY PIPELINE WITH ENLARGED EXPANSION JOINTS

This paper reports on a full-scale experiment and numerical analysis performed to verify the earthquake resistance of a rubber ring (RR)-type U-PVC pipeline with enlarged expansion joints for water distribution. In the experiment, one end of a buried model pipeline measuring 20 m in length was pulled out and/or pushed in using a hydraulic jack to simulate the relative ground movement that occurs during the sliding of a soil mass parallel to the pipeline s longitudinal axis. The results indicated a high level of expansion performance and slip-out prevention capability in the expansion joints. Furthermore, a high-speed loading experiment for the expansion joints was carried out to verify their performance against seismic relative ground movement. The outcome clarified that the enlarged expansion joints with slip-out prevention offer a high level of anti-seismic performance for U-PVC water supply pipelines.