Pipeline Location and Installation (PLI) Technical Committee

Pipeline Division (PLD), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

Purpose:

To investigate and correlate status of (1) pipeline location practices and procedures including application of survey techniques and assessment of environmental impact; (2) pipeline installation methods including both normal and special techniques; and (3) quality assurance, proof testing, and inspection practices on constructed pipelines, and to cooperate with other organizations in gathering and disseminating this information to the profession.

Officers:

Chair:

K. Sri Rajah, PhD., P.E.

Secretary:

Walt Schwarz, P.E.

Executive Committee (EXCOM) Contact:

Terry McArthur, P.E.

Activities:

2009 International Pipelines Conference Organization

Purpose:

Pipeline Location and Installation (PLI) technical committee will be sponsoring ASCE International Conference - Pipelines 2009 "Infrastructure's Hidden Assets" to be held in San Diego, California.

Chair:

Randall Hill, P.E.

Task Committee on Pipeline Installation, Inspection and Acceptance Testing

Purpose:

The purpose of this task committee is to prepare a manual of practice (MOP) describing successful construction methods and procedures for installing the common types of pipes used to transport water-like fluids. The MOP will focus on the needs of field personnel, constructors, and inspectors, so it assumes the pipeline design is complete, decisions on alternatives are resolved, and the designer's concepts are now ready for conversion into a real project.

Chair:

Malcolm Stephens, P.E.

Task Committee on Buried Flexible (Steel) Pipe Load Stability Criteria & Design

Purpose:

The purpose of this task committee is to prepare a manual of practice (MOP) providing information on the structural design and analysis of steel water and wastewater pipe consistent with the latest pipe/soil concepts of the industry.

Chair:

William R. Whidden, P.E.

Task Committee on Thrust Restraint Design for Buried Pipelines

Purpose:

Currently, there is no consensus on an appropriate design approach for the design of thrust restraint systems in buried pipelines. The design approaches given in AWWA guidelines differ amongst pipe materials. The design practices widely vary based on company specific best practice approaches, creating confusion. The purpose of this task committee is to prepare a white paper documenting current design practices of thrust restraint systems for various pipe materials, theoretical background, historical evolution of the approaches and field testing; explore improvements to current practice; and propose recommendations, as a basis for future development of a manual of practice.

Chair:

Stephen Shumaker, P.E.

Task Committee on Pipe Bedding, Backfill and Trench Shoring Systems

Purpose:

Pipe bedding and backfill and shoring systems vary across the country because of native soil conditions and availability of pipe zone materials. However, the pipe material that is laid in the trench is specific being steel, PCCP, RCP, PVC, DIP, and HDPE. These pipe materials are manufactured according to published national standards such as AWWA, ACI, ASTM, etc; while trench conditions and trench zone materials vary by regions of the country. The purpose of this committee is to compile the preferred and economical pipe bedding and backfill materials for the trench conditions according to local pipeline contractor preferences and available native materials as well as the different shoring systems for various regions of the country and prepare a white paper summarizing the findings and recommendations to ASCE TAC committee for further studies or publication of the research findings.

Chair:

Randall Hill, P.E.