Pre-stressed Concrete Pipes Types, Advantages & Features

Pre-stressed concrete pipes are used worldwide and they have emerged as the best replacement of steel pipes and RCC pipes. Pressure Pipes are stronger than RCC pipers and they are more economical in comparison to steel pipes or cast iron pipes. PCCP offers a combination of high compressive strength of concrete and high tensile strength of steel that helps in forming highly durable structures.

Types of Pre-stressed Concrete Pipes

Prestressed concrete pipes are primarily classified into two types. Pre-stressed Concrete Lined Cylinder Pipes and Pre-stressed Concrete Non Cylinder Pipes.

Pre-stressed Concrete Lined Cylinder Pipes:

In this type of pressure pipes, a concrete core pipe is lined by a steel cylinder that is covered with a loop of highly pre-stressed wire and a coat of dense concrete protects this wire arrangement. Steel cylinders have steel joints rings at the ends which help in connecting two pipes during installation.

Pre-stressed Concrete Non Cylinder Pipes:

This type of pressure pipes doesn’t contain a steel cylinder and it is the only difference. In pre-stressed concrete non cylinder pipes, circular pre-stressing is directly provided on the concrete core pipe.

Advantages of Pressure Pipes

Pressure pipes offer a number of benefits because of their high strength and durability. One of the most important advantages of Pre-stressed concrete pipes is that they are resistant to physical damage. These pressure pipes have excellent corrosion properties which makes it most suitable for wastewater applications and industrial piping. They are more economical than lined and coated ferrous pipes. When it comes to PCCP, a wide range of diameters are available which increases the scope of utilization in various types of projects.

Features of PCCP

High Pressure Capacity:

PCCP has a high strength to handle internal and external loads effectively. The concrete and steel wall of the pipe is pre-stressed with steel wire to give it high strength to resist the pressure requirements. The strong wall completely supports the external forces of the surrounding land. PCCP is the only piping material that is developed to handle both internal pressure and external load.

Corrosion Resistant:

Prestressed concrete pipes offer excellent protection from corrosion. The high pH, the alkaline environment created by concrete and mortar offers electrochemical protection against corrosion and it more effective to barrier-type protection offered by paint, tape wraps, and polyethylene encasements.

Custom Designed:

Mostly, PCCP is custom designed as per the customer’s requirement. Because of this, customers do not need to pay for unnecessary strength. Every section of pipe and its fittings can be custom designed to achieve specific internal pressure and external loadings as per the project requirements.

Easy Installation:

It takes lesser time to install PCCP on the project site. Because of its strength, it doesn’t need any special bedding under a normal situation. Installing any other type of pipe may require highly compacted bedding, bracing, trucking that adds to the cost, time, and additional problems.