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BEDDING/FOUNDATION SUPPORT OF BURIED PIPE GENERAL This page addresses soil bedding and foundation support of rigid pipe, such as reinforced concrete, and flexible pipe, such as steel and plastic. This does not address selection of pipe based on loads and allowable deflections, but rather addresses the geotechnical/soil aspects of uniform pipe support. Bedding/foundation support needs relate to local conditions directly beneath and to the sides of the pipe zone, which may be influenced by soft in -situ ground conditions or by soil disturbance due to soil sensitivity or ground water. Bedding relates to granular materials placed directly beneath the bottom of the pipe (usually 4" to 6" thick), which is intended to provide increased support uniformity. We refer to foundation soils as thicker layers of sands and/or gravels (beneath the bedding zone) intended to provide increased foundation strength support, usually needed due to soft, unstable and/or waterbearing conditions. GRANULAR BEDDING With circular pipes, high local loads (approaching point loads) develop if pipes are placed on hard surfaces. Load distribution is improved by placing granular bedding materials beneath the pipe, which are either shaped to match the pipe bottom or are placed without compaction to allow "settling in." The bedding should be placed in such a manner that the pipe will be at the proper elevation and slope when the pipe is laid on the bedding. Common bedding material is defined in MnDOT Specification 3149.2F, Granular Bedding. Published documents recommend rigid pipes having a diameter of 12" to 54" be placed on a bedding thickness of 4", which increases to 6" of bedding for pipe diameters ranging from 54" to 72". Beyond a 72" diameter, the bedding thickness can be equal to the pipe outside diameter divided by 12. Typically, the need for bedding under small diameter pipes (less than 12") depends on the pipe designer's specific needs, although in obvious point loads situations (bedrock, cobbles, significant coarse gravel content), bedding is recommended. Note that bedding should also account for larger diameter bells at joints. FOUNDATION FILL Positive uniform strength is usually compromised in soft or unstable trench bottom conditions. In this case, deeper subcuts and foundation fill placement is needed beneath the pipe. In moderate instability conditions, improvement can likely be accomplished with a thicker bedding layer. However, in more significant instability situations, particularly where ground water is present, coarser materials may be needed to provide a stronger foundation. Thicker gravel layers can also be a favorable media from which to dewater. The following materials would be appropriate for stability improvement, with the coarser materials being appropriate for higher instability/ground water cases. • Fine Filter Aggregate — MnDOT Specification 3149.2J • Coarse Filter Aggregate —MnDOT Specification 3149.2H When using a coarser material which includes significant void space, we highly recommend enveloping the entire gravel layer within a geotextile separation fabric. The gravel material includes open void space, and the fabric acts as a separator which minimizes the intrusion of fines into the open void space. If additional granular bedding sand is used above foundation gravel, the fabric would also prevent downward infiltration of bedding sand into the rock void space. Although it is preferred to not highly compact thin granular bedding zones directly beneath the pipe center, it is desirable to compact the foundation materials to prevent more significant pipe settlement. We recommend foundation fill be compacted to a minimum of 95% of the Standard Proctor density (ASTM: D698). It is not possible to test coarse rock fill, although this material should still be well compacted/ tamped. Often, pipes entering structures such as catch basins, lift stations, etc., enter the structure at a higher elevation than the structure bottom, and are therefore placed on the structure backfill. Fill beneath these pipes should be considered foundation fill. Depending on the flexibility of the connection design, it may be necessary to increase the minimum compaction level to reduce differential settlements, particularly with thicker fills. SIDE FILL SUPPORT If the pipe designer requires support from the side fill, granular bedding should also be placed along the sides of the pipe. In poor soil conditions, the sand fill may need to be placed laterally up to two pipe diameters on both sides of the pipe. With rigid pipe, compacted sand placement up to the spring line (within the haunch area) is usually sufficient. With flexible pipe, side fill should be placed and compacted at least to the top of the pipe. For positive support, it is very important to properly compact the sands within the haunch area. 01REP017 (07/14) AMERICAN ENGINEERING TESTING, INC.