Buried pipes are subject to various external and internal stresses that can cause them to deform or buckle, resulting in potential damage. To protect these pipes, it is important to increase soil carrying capacity, which promotes soil stability and decreases soil settlement, thus reducing buried pipe deformation. The use of polymeric-layered materials for soil reinforcement is regarded as one of the most cost-effective methods for enhancing soil strength compared to conventional strengthening methods. This paper aims to evaluate the surface soil settlement and vertical stress transmitted on a shallowly buried Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride (UPVC) pipe buried in a trench. Two static loading tests were applied to a circular plate on a subgrade soil with a UPVC pipe buried in a compacted clay soil trench with and without a geogrid, and a third test was conducted using a fine aggregate in the trench instead of clay soil. The results showed that soil settlement and pipe deformation were reduced due to the geogrid reinforcement; fine aggregate in the trench also provided better pipe protection compared to clay soil and reduced subgrade soil settlement. In summary, both protection techniques are useful and the geogrid facilitates higher protection.
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