Pipe Materials and Joint Selection for Trenchless Construction

Trenchless construction techniques are commonly used on many types of utility projects for railroad, highway, and waterway crossings, to cross areas of limited work space, to avoid the need for deep costly shoring, and to reduce surface disruption associated with conventional cut and cover pipeline construction. Many types of pipe materials are commonly used, but selection of the proper pipe material(s) and pipe joint(s) in combination with the appropriate trenchless method can have a profound impact on the success of the installation and ultimately the performance of the utility. The characteristics of a variety of common pipe materials relative to typical trenchless installation techniques are summarized. Issues, design parameters, and limitations of the pipe material types are presented relative to the trenchless technique. Also, pipe joint types and related design considerations and joint configuration information is discussed for each applicable pipe material.