NOTES:

For deep trenches where significant Bedding Material

soil loading may occur, the trench Preferred bedding materials are listed in AS 2032 as follows:
should not exceed the width's given (a) Suitable sand, free from rock or other hard or sharp objects that would be retained on a 13.2 mm sieve.
in the Table. (b) Crushed rock or gravel of approved grading up to a maximum size of 14 mm.
NS (c) The excavated material may provide a suitable pipe underlay if it is free from rock or hard matter and broken up so that it contains no soil lumps having
Table Recommended Trench Width any dimension greater than 75 mm which would prevent adequate compaction of the bedding.

100mm 100mm Size DN Min. Trench Width The suitability of a material depends on its compactability. Granular materials (gravel or sand) containing little or no fines, or specification graded
materials, require little or no compaction, and are preferred. Sands containing fines, and clays are difficult to compact and should only be used where it
90 mm 290 mm can be demonstrated that appropriate compaction can be achieved.
Variations in the hard bed should never exceed 20% of the bedding depth. Absolute minimum underlay should be 75 mm. It may be necessary to provide
100 mm 320 mm a groove under each socket to ensure that even support along the pipe barrel is achieved.

150 mm 360 mm Pipe Side Support

Material selected for pipe side support should be adequately tamped in layers of not more than 150 mm. Care should be taken not to damage the exposed
Minimum Trench Width pipe and to tamp evenly on either side of the pipe to prevent pipe distortion.
Unless otherwise specified, the pipe side support and pipe overlay material used should be identical with the pipe bedding material.
A trench should be as narrow as practical but adequate to allow space for working area and
for tamping the side support. It should be not less than 200 mm wider than the outside Pipe Overlay
diameter of the pipe irrespective of soil condition. The pipe overlay material should be levelled and tamped in layers to a minimum height of 150 mm above the crown of the pipe. Care should be taken not
to disturb the line or grade of the pipeline, where this is critical, by excessive tamping.

Backfill
Unless otherwise specified, excavated material from the site should constitute the back-fill.
Gravel and sand can be compacted by vibratory methods and clays by tamping. This is best achieved when the soils are wet. If water flooding is used and
NS extra soil has to be added to the original backfill, this should be done only when the flooded backfill is firm enough to walk on. When flooding the trench,
TRENCH DEPTH
care should be taken not to float the pipe.
BACKFILL Loading Cover H PVC Pipes under Roads
H
COMPACTED PVC pipes can be installed under roads in either the longitudinal or transverse direction. The type of rock / granular materials specified for road subgrades
PIPE OVERLAY No vehicular loading 300 mm have a very high soil modulus and offer excellent side support for flexible pipes as well as minimising the effects of dead and live loads. This represents
150mm
an ideal structural environment for PVC pipes. Consideration should be given at the time of installation to ensure: construction loadings are allowed for;
Vehicular loading - the pipes are buried at sufficient depth to ensure they are not disturbed during future realignments or regrading of the road; and minimum depths of cover
PIPE COMPACTED
SIDE SUPPORT and compaction techniques are observed.
not roadway 450 mm
BEDDING 75mm (min.)
Pipeline Buoyancy
sealed roadway 600 mm Pipe, under wet conditions, can become buoyant in the trench. PVC pipe, being lighter than most pipe materials, should be covered with sufficient overlay
and backfill material to prevent inadvertent flotation and movement. A depth of cover over the pipe of 1.5 times the diameter is usually adequate.
unsealed roadway 750 mm
Minimum Cover Requirement Expansion and Contraction
Embankment 750 mm
Pipe will expand or contract if it is installed during very hot or very cold weather, so it is recommended that the final pipe connections be made when the
temperature of the pipe has stabilised at a temperature close to that of the backfilled trench.
When the pipe has to be laid in hot weather, precautions should be taken to allow for the contraction of the line which will occur when it cools to its normal
working temperature.

For solvent cemented systems, the lines should be free to move until a strong bond has been developed (see Solvent Cement Jointing Procedures) and
The recommended minimum trench depth is determined by the loads imposed on the pipe installation procedure should ensure that contraction does not impose strain on newly made joints.
such as the mass of backfill material, the anticipated traffic loads and any other superimposed For rubber ring jointed pipes, if contraction accumulates over several lengths, pull-out of a joint can occur. To avoid this possibility the preferred technique
loads. The depth of the trench should be sufficient to prevent damage to the pipe when the is to back-fill each length, at least partially, as laying proceeds. (It may be required to leave joints exposed for test and inspection.)
anticipated loads are imposed upon it. It should be noted that rubber ring joint design allows for contraction to occur. Provided joints are made to the witness mark in the first instance, and
contraction is taken up approximately evenly at each joint, there is no danger of loss of seal. A gap between witness mark and socket of up to 10 mm after
contraction is quite acceptable.
Further contraction may be observed on pressurisation of the line (so-called Poisson contraction due to circumferential strain). Again this is anticipated in
joint design and is quite in order.

PIPE NETWORK DESIGNED BY: PROJECT NAME & LOCATION DRAWN REVISION DATE SHEET
By COO
Date 30Aug16
TRENCHING AND BACKFILLING Checked
By
TR1
Date