Rigid circular or elliptical pipes, usually precast such materials as plain or reinforced concrete, burned clay, asbestos cement, and cast iron, are not readily analyzed by principles of mechanics; and, since they are usually relatively small structures, their inheret supporting strength can be most easily determined by testing a representative group of specimens in the laboratory. Several methods of testing sections of pipes have been devised. Four methods of supporting and loading pipes are : the two-edge bearing, the three-edge bearing, the sand bearing, and the Minnesota bearing.
Of these tests, that with the three-edge bearing is the simplest and ost easily performed; and it also gives accurate and uniform results. For these reasons it is widely employed in pipe-strength determinations, altough some engineers prefer the sand bearing test because of the wider distribution of both the applied load and the reaction. See images below of three-edge bearing test.
Of these tests, that with the three-edge bearing is the simplest and ost easily performed; and it also gives accurate and uniform results. For these reasons it is widely employed in pipe-strength determinations, altough some engineers prefer the sand bearing test because of the wider distribution of both the applied load and the reaction. See images below of three-edge bearing test.
The pipe Certa-fire by ERMC reflects the state-of-the-art in three edge bearing tester design and construction. The Certa-fire is the only tester in the industry with an optional Programmable Logic Controller. When PLC controls are employed, you can test and certify more pipe, in less time, with confidence.