Welcome to John’s Blog. Answers to frequently asked questions are periodically posted here. The objective is to share information about PVC pipe with readers as well as with utilities, design engineers and pipe installers. The blog provides the latest information on PVC pipe design, installation, and application for water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
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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.
Thrust forces are developed in a pressure pipe whenever there is a change in flow. When joint restraint is required to accommodate these forces, the most commonly used method is external joint-restraint devices. These devices have been used successfully on PVC pipe for more than 40 years. For my Tech Brief on external joint-restraint devices for PVC pipe joints, click here. Typically, a restrained length of pipe is required on both sides of an appurtenance. The length of pipe to be restrained is determined by the design engineer. To restrain that pipe length, pipe-to-fitting restraints (usually MJ) and pipe-to-pipe restraints (bell harness) are usually required. As usual on pipeline projects, there are methods of installation that provide better results. Tightening of nuts on threaded hardware is a good example. The Tech Brief discusses three types of threaded connection and how to best accomplish them.
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