PCCP Core Wall-Thinning Using High-Performance Fiber Concrete
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional prestressed concrete cylinder pipes (PCCP) face issues with heavy weight, poor compressive performance, and crack resistance, especially as diameter increases, posing challenges in hoisting, transportation, and installation, while ordinary concrete core materials lack durability and strength.
Innovation Solution
A core wall-thinning design method for prestressed high-performance concrete cylinder pipes, utilizing high-performance concrete comprising P.O 42.5 or P.O 52.5 portland cement, river sand, mineral powder, fly ash, silica fume, steel fibers, polypropylene fibers, and superabsorbent resin, combined with a wall-thinning design and a calculation formula to optimize pipe structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the pipe diameter increases, then the water diversion capacity improves, but the core thickness and pipe weight significantly increase, posing challenges to hoisting, transportation, and installation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by transitioning from ordinary concrete to high-performance concrete, which fundamentally alters the material parameters (strength, density, durability). This enables the core wall to be thinned while maintaining structural integrity, thereby reducing pipe weight without compromising water diversion capacity. The high-performance concrete's superior strength-to-weight ratio allows for optimized wall thickness parameters in large-diameter pipes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by using high-performance concrete that combines multiple cementitious materials (Portland cement, mineral powder, fly ash, silica fume) with fibers (steel fibers, polypropylene fibers) and superabsorbent resin. This composite formulation achieves both weight reduction and enhanced mechanical properties, resolving the contradiction between large diameter requirements and weight control.
2Reliability
If ordinary concrete is used for the core, then material costs are lower, but the strength, durability, and crack resistance are insufficient, causing cylinder rust and steel wire breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by using composite high-performance concrete that integrates multiple materials with complementary properties. The combination of cementitious materials, fibers, and superabsorbent resin creates a composite that delivers superior strength, durability, and crack resistance while managing costs through optimized material selection and ratios.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by enhancing specific properties of the core concrete where needed. The high-performance concrete formulation provides localized improvements in strength, durability, and crack resistance at the core level, which is critical for preventing cylinder rust and steel wire breakage, while the overall pipe design maintains cost-effectiveness.
3Strength
If the core wall thickness is increased to improve strength, then the pipe can withstand higher pressures, but the weight and material costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by utilizing high-performance concrete with fundamentally different material parameters compared to ordinary concrete. The enhanced strength parameters of the high-performance concrete allow for reduced wall thickness while maintaining or improving pressure resistance, thereby reducing pipe weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the mechanical approach of increasing wall thickness to improve strength with a material-based approach. By replacing ordinary concrete with high-performance concrete, the patent achieves improved strength through material properties rather than increased geometric dimensions, thus avoiding the weight penalty associated with thicker walls.
Data Source
AI summary
A core wall-thinning design method for a prestressed high-performance concrete cylinder pipe is provided. The PCCP uses high-performance concrete, which includes P.O 42.5 or P.O 52.5 portland cement, river sand, mineral powder, fly ash, silica fume, steel fibers, polypropylene fibers, a high-efficiency polycarboxylate superplasticizer, and superabsorbent resin, and which is prepared by: adding all cementitious materials, sand and superabsorbent resin for mixing until uniform dispersion; dissolving the superplasticizer in water, and adding the superplasticizer dissolved in water and evenly stirring; and evenly adding steel fibers and polypropylene fibers and evenly stirring. The compressive strength and the tensile strength of the high-performance concrete are increased. A core wall-thinning design method, includes: establishing an axisymmetric double-layer ring plane strain model, to analyze radial displacement and circumferential stress of an outer ring and an inner ring of the PCCP, and then deriving a calculation formula of the wall-thinning design.