An Experimental Study on Ground Reinforcement Effect of Concrete and Expansion Mat for Prevention of Buried Pipe Damage

Recently, small-scale excavation like ground cavity restoration and buried pipe replacement works are being carried out in urban area, in order to improve living convenience. This paper describes experiment results on the ground reinforcement method that can reduce the buried pipe damage, when the differential settlement occurred due to poor compaction of ground below the buried pipe. Plate load tests were conducted to evaluate a reinforcement effect of ground using concrete mat and expansion mat in the ground below the buried pipe. The results showed that the stress reduction ratio by concrete mat and expansion mat according to the surcharge load was about 46%∼48% and 39%∼42%, respectively. Therefore, the differential settlement of the buried pipe and the ground deformation below the buried pipes were reduced by the reinforcement effect of the concrete mat and expansion mat. This means that it is possible to prevent a buried pipe damage due to underground cavity and ground subsidence, if concrete mat and expansion mat are reinforced in the ground below the buried pipe or on the ground between the buried pipes.