- Wall
- Reinforcement
- Joint
- Lifters
- Wall for connectors
- Barrel Reinforcement
USCP put a lot of thought into how it builds the products we offer. We had to make decisions that we knew would affect the long term performance of the products we were providing. We had to decide what our wall thickness would be. We had to decide what reinforcement we would use. We had to decide how we would connect the pipe to the manhole or structure. We had to consider how our customers would unload and set the structures.
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Wall Thickness
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Lifter
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Lifter
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Barrel Reinforcement
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Steel Reinforcement
ASTM C478
Design- don’t use the tensile strength of the concrete
The structures designed and built by USCP are unique in several ways.
USCP follows the minimum reinforcement requirements stated in ASTM C478. ASTM C478 does have a provision for using hoop reinforcement in the barrel section. However, hoop reinforcement is only allowed in 48” diameter risers that do not have any openings in the wall.
USCP has some of the thickest walls in the polymer concrete industry. Thicker walls allow our products to have several advantages over our competitors.
-It makes for easier installation of wall anchors for steps, gates, or discharge pipes
-It allows for rubber gasket joints that are compatible with standard concrete manholes
-It improves the wall section properties
-It permits the use of high capacity lifting anchors to be cast into the wall
-It permits the use of steel reinforcement in the barrel sections
-It permits the use of pipe to manhole connectors that have been tested to meet all of the requirements of ASTM C923
Know your standards:
The wordsmithing used by today’s specifications provided by the manufacturer can be more confusing than the actual design calculations used to construct the products. Too many times we see words like “per the intent” or “allowances”, or “per the manufacturers recommendation”. Other times we see items that have the sole purpose of eliminating other manufacturers from being able to bid. Specifications are not intended to be subject to interpretation. They should be precise and direct.
As the trend for consultant engineers to rely on the manufacturers for supplying a specification to be used on a project has grown, fewer engineers are actually learning the specifics of the products they specify. It can become just a cut and paste procedure that often times leave the designer unaware of what is even in the specification that was put into bidding documents.
It is important for the engineering community to verify the information being provided and to not just rely on us blindly.