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John Houle: Senior Technical Consultant, PVC Pipe Industry
John Houle holds a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri and an MBA from the University of Oregon. He has more than 25 years of experience in the plastic pipe industry in applications engineering, market development, forensic analysis, technical writing, and standards development.
The report, "Lessons Learned from Ductile Iron Pipe," is a six-volume study of iron pipe corrosion undertaken by the American Concrete Pressure Pipe Association in conjunction with several large consulting engineering companies. Some of the study’s findings are described below.
Analysis: DIPRA’s Ten-Point System Not Reliable Sixty incidents of ductile iron (DI) pipe corrosion were evaluated using DIPRA’s “Ten-Point Soil Test Evaluation Method.” The conclusion: the “Ten-Point” system is not a reliable method for determining soil corrosivity. Products: Ductile Iron Pipe’s Thinner Walls Mean Faster Corrosion Ductile iron corrodes at the same rate as cast iron, but DI pipe has much thinner walls. Thinner walls mean quicker corrosion penetration. Corrosion Prevention: Methods Are Problematic Commonly used corrosion-prevention methods do not always function as advertised:
Conclusion: DI Pipe Corrosion – A Much Bigger Problem Than Previously Thought!
Read more in my Tech Brief Iron Pipe Corrosion - Lessons Learned.
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