13 years of deformation measurement on HDPE- (Hostalen GM 5010) sewer pipe [PE]

In the mid-sixties the application of plastics pipes for sewerage and drainage was beginning.
At the same time we have started special tests to measure the deformation of HDPE-pipes under the load of different kinds of soil: sand and shluff. It will be reported about the newest results.

The use of Hostalen GM 5010 for sewer pipes started in 1962 when the Hoechst ,Jahrhunderthalle“ was being built. In this building, the rainwater pipes were concreted into the piers and walls, and the sewer pipes (315 mm @) were laid underground.
There was a considerable traffic load on the building site from heavy vehicles and in order to determine the load resistance of these underground pipes, we carried out deformation measurements for the first time.

In later years, sewer lines made trom Hostalien pipe were also laid at various plants in the Hoechst AG works.This activity was given particular impetus by the building of the biological water treatment plant and the Research Centre. Between 1962 and 1965 about 35 km Hostalen sewer pipe with diameters ranging from 100 te 1400 mm were laid for these projects (2). Before constructing this immense sewer network it was of course necessary to establish bases for designing pipe wall thickness to withstand the earth loads which were likely to occur. Because time was Short, it was not possible to carry out creep trials, and we had to make use of sand box model trials to establish a provisional method of calculating wall thickness.