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Circular precast concrete manholes: Experimental investigation

Article  in  Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering · February 2011

DOI: 10.1139/L10-135

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 319

Circular precast concrete manholes: experimental

investigation
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications on 06/06/13

Reem Sabouni and M.H. El Naggar

Abstract: Circular precast concrete manholes are widely used in sanitary sewer and storm water systems. The lack of de-
tailed technical information on them and the conservatism of their governing codes and standards call for a detailed inves-
tigation on them. The main objectives of this paper are to evaluate the state of strains in the precast concrete manhole and
state of stresses in the soil beneath the base to be used in developing enhanced guidelines for the design of their bases.
Three full-scale circular precast concrete manholes, two 1200 mm in diameter and one 1500 mm in diameter, were tested
in the large-scale geotechnical testing facility (LSGTF) at the University of Western Ontario. Only one 1200 mm manhole
base was reinforced. Twenty seven load tests were performed on the manholes, which involved loads representing the On-
tario truck loads incorporated in the Canadian Highway Bridge Code. None of the manhole sections tested in the experi-
mental program experienced any cracks. The test results showed that traffic loading had a small effect on the pressure
under the manhole base. All three specimens could withstand the critical Ontario truck loads, even the non-reinforced
ones.
Key words: precast concrete manholes, full-scale testing, controlled testing environment, Ontario standard truck load, soil
structure interaction.
Résumé : Les trous d’homme en béton préfabriqué sont largement utilisés dans les réseaux d’égouts et de collecte des
eaux pluviales. Le manque d’information technique détaillée et le conservatisme des codes et des normes les régissant de-
For personal use only.

mandent une étude plus poussée. Les principaux objectifs de cet article sont d’évaluer l’état des déformations sur le trou
d’homme en béton préfabriqué et l’état des contraintes sur le sol en dessous de la base qui seront utilisées pour établir des
lignes directrices améliorées de conception de leur base. Trois trous d’homme circulaire à pleine échelle, deux d’un diamè-
tre de 1200 mm et l’autre de 1500 mm, ont été mis à l’épreuve aux installations d’essais géotechniques à grande échelle
(LSGTF) de l’Université Western Ontario. Une seule base de trou d’homme de 1200 mm a été renforcée. En tout, 27 es-
sais statiques de chargement ont été réalisés sur les trous d’homme; les charges représentaient les charges des camions en
Ontario incorporées au Code canadien sur le calcul des ponts routiers. Aucune section des trous d’homme mises à
l’épreuve lors de ce programme expérimental n’a montré des fissures. Les résultats des essais montrent que les charges
causées par le trafic avaient peu d’effet sur la pression sous la base du trou d’homme. Chacun des trois échantillons pou-
vait soutenir les charges critiques des camions en Ontario, même ceux qui n’étaient pas renforcés.
Mots-clés : trous d’homme en béton préfabriqué, essai à pleine échelle, environnement d’essai contrôlé, norme de charges
de camions de l’Ontario, interaction sol-structure.
[Traduit par la Rédaction]

1. Introduction mon shapes available in North America are rectangular and

A manhole is a hole through which a person can gain ac-
cess to an underground structure such as storm water or
sewer systems. Precast concrete manholes are among the
common types of manholes in Canada. The two most com-
Received 1 September 2009. Revision accepted 22 December
2010. Published on the NRC Research Press Web site at
cjce.nrc.ca on 9 February 2011.
R. Sabouni. ALHOSN University, Department of Civil
Engineering, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, P.O. Box:
38772.
M.H. El Naggar.1 Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Western
Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada.
Written discussion of this article is welcomed and will be
received by the Editor until 31 July 2011.
1Corresponding author (e-mail: helnaggar@eng.uwo.ca).
circular manholes. Rectangular manholes are available in
two types; utility chamber and monobox manhole. These
manholes are used where pipe sizes are too large for the
use with circular structures (Ontario Concrete Pipe Associa-
tion (OCPA) 1997). Circular manholes are widely used for
small and medium size pipe installations, and are the focus
of this paper. Circular manholes are used in both sewer and
storm water systems to provide access points and pipe junc-
tions. They can also be used as valve chambers for force
and water mains, sewer and storm catch basins and pumping
stations. In some cases, they are used as underground stor-
age tanks and lift station wet wells (American Concrete
Pipe Association (ACPA) 2008).
The current design practice of manholes and their compo-
nents is generally conservative and involves heavily rein-
forced cross sections. The current codes may allow
alternative manhole design if verified by the results of full-
scale load tests. In the course of introducing a more efficient

Can. J. Civ. Eng. 38: 319–330 (2011) doi:10.1139/L10-135 Published by NRC Research Press
 320
design alternative to the precast concrete manholes involv-
ing the reduction of amount of reinforcement in the manhole
base, three full-scale manholes were load tested. This paper
provides a detailed description of the experimental program
and discusses the testing results and their analysis in terms
of the displacement during testing, the pressure in soil
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications on 06/06/13
underneath the manhole, strain in manhole base, and strain
in manhole risers.
2. Experimental program
The testing program was carried out in the large-scale
geotechnical testing facility (LSGTF). This facility is situ-
ated in the structure laboratory of the University of Western
Ontario (Western). The LSGTF consists of concrete rigid
walls and floor and its plan dimensions are 4.5 m  4.5 m
and its height is 7.62 m. The facility is equipped with an ad-
justable loading system at its top.
2.1. Description of test samples and soil bed
Three full-scale precast concrete manhole specimens were
tested. The first specimen was a standard 1200 mm diameter
tapered top manhole provided by Con Cast Pipe manufac-
turer. This manhole had a total height of 5.89 m. As shown
in Fig. 1, it consisted of a monobase, four risers, and a ta-
pered top, all reinforced with welded wire fabric (WWF) re-
inforcement according to the Canadian Standard Association
For personal use only.
specifications CSA A257 (CSA 2003). The risers and the
monobase were 139 mm thick. The manhole base was rein-
forced with steel rebars as shown in Fig. 2a and had an in-
ner diameter of 1.219 m and a thickness of 173 mm. This
manhole specimen will be referred to as the 1200 mm rein-
forced manhole. The WWF used in this specimen was 400W
steel with a suppliers mill test certificate yield stress (fy) and
modulus of elasticity (Es) of 400 MPa and 200 000 MPa, re-
spectively. The 28 day compressive strength (fc’) was deter-
mined from testing two concrete cylinders cast from the
concrete batch used for casting the manhole segments, and
the compressive strength values are shown in Table 1.
The second manhole specimen incorporated the four risers
and the tapered top from the first specimen. The monobase
of the second specimen included a 1 m high monobase and a
0.2 m riser. The second monobase was 139 mm thick with
WWF in its sides, with a 1.219 m inner diameter and a
150 mm thick nonreinforced base. The total height of this
specimen was also 5.89 m and had the same WWF as those
in the 1200 mm reinforced manhole. This manhole specimen
will be referred to as the 1200 mm nonreinforced manhole.
The 28 day cylinder compressive strength for the base parts
was 64.5 MPa.
The third manhole specimen was 1500 mm in diameter
and consisted of a base slab, three risers, a transition cone,
and a tapered top, all reinforced with WWF. The manhole
base slab was nonreinforced with thickness of 305 mm and
the risers were 152.4 mm thick. This manhole had a total
height of 4.97 m (see Fig. 1 for part sizes). The WWF had
the same properties as those in the 1200 mm manholes. The
28 day cylinder compressive strength for the base slab was
45.05 MPa and was 58.3 MPa for the rest of the manhole
segments. This specimen will be referred to as the
1500 mm nonreinforced manhole.
Two types of soils were used to form the soil bed: con-
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 38, 2011
crete sand and grade A gravel (produced according to OPSS
1010 (MTO and MEA 2003)). The grain size distribution
and their properties are shown in Fig. 3 and Table 2.
2.2. Instrumentation and installation of test samples
A preliminary model for a 1200 mm diameter manhole
was developed in Plaxis 2D (where the detailed information
of the installed manhole was not available yet) as a tool to
pick the key locations and directions of the installed con-
crete strain gauges and pressure cells. These locations were
checked after that with a detailed Plaxis 3D model and were
found to be satisfactory. The instrumentation scheme of the
1200 mm reinforced manhole sample included steel strain
gauges (attached to reinforcing steel) and concrete strain
gauges (attached to the concrete surface). The WWF steel
reinforcement cages of the segments were instrumented
with 161 steel strain gauges. Five steel strain gauges were
also attached to the steel reinforcement of the manhole base
(See Fig. 2a for their locations). A good portion of the strain
gauges survived the casting process and were able to pro-
duce useable data. After the steel strain gauging was com-
pleted, the manhole cages were transported to Con Cast
Pipe facilities for casting. Concrete cylinders from the same
concrete batch used in casting were tested for strength. The
manhole was instrumented with six concrete strain gauges;
three on the base (Fig. 2b) and three on the tapered top and
risers (Fig. 1).
The four instrumented risers and tapered top from the
1200 mm reinforced manhole sample were incorporated
into the second manhole specimen. The new manhole base
was instrumented with five concrete strain gauges (Fig. 2c).
The 1500 mm nonreinforced manhole specimen was instru-
mented with 12 concrete strain gauges. One gauge was in-
stalled on the transition cone, another one was installed on
the tapered top, three gauges were installed on different ris-
ers (all at the middle of the stares) (Fig. 1b), and the remain-
ing seven were installed on the base slab (Fig. 2d).
The manhole specimens were installed in the LSGTF fol-
lowing the standard installation procedure specified by the
Ontario provincial standard specification (OPSS516) (MTO
and MEA 2005), which states that the backfill material
should be compacted to 95% of its maximum dry density
with a maximum layer height of 300 mm; and that the man-
hole should be resting on a layer of well graded granular
material of a 150 mm minimum depth and compacted to
95% of its maximum dry density. To meet these standards,
each sand layer was compacted several times using an elec-
tric compactor after adding water. Sand cone tests were per-
formed on the compacted layers to insure that the
compaction exceeded 95% of the sand’s maximum dry den-
sity.
Pressure cells (having 700 kPa capacity) were installed in
the soil surrounding and beneath the manhole bases to meas-
ure the pressure in the soil during testing. The thickness of
the different soil layers where the manholes were installed
in, along with the locations of the pressure cells are shown
in Fig. 1. To monitor the top displacement of the soil, the
manhole, and the loading beams, several linear displacement
transducers (100 mm displacement range) were installed at
critical locations.
Published by NRC Research Press
 Sabouni and El Naggar
Fig. 1. Pressure cell and strain gauge locations for (a) 1200 mm nonreinforced manhole and (b) 1500 mm nonreinforced manhole.
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications on 06/06/13
For personal use only.
2.3. Loading tests procedures
Twenty seven tests were performed on the three manhole
specimens. Seven tests were performed on the 1200 mm re-
inforced manhole, eight tests on the 1200 mm nonreinforced
manhole, and twelve on the 1500 mm nonreinforced man-
hole. The loading conditions used in the testing were chosen
to represent the possible critical loads from the standard On-
321
tario truck (Fig. 4) (CSA 2006). The loading was applied us-
ing one or two hydraulic jacks (model PER1401B, with
900 kN capacity) and different arrangements of W steel
beams and steel plates (equal to the standard truck wheel
load) (Table 3). The W beams were designed to withstand
the applied loads and had spans that represented the axle of
the standard Ontario truck (Abolmaali and Garg 2008). Two
Published by NRC Research Press
 322 Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 38, 2011

Fig. 2. Base strain gauge locations [m] for (a) steel strain gauges 1200 mm reinforced manhole, (b) concrete strain gauges for the 1200 mm
reinforced manhole, (c) concrete strain gauges for the 1200 mm nonreinforced manhole, and (d) concrete strain gauges for the 1500 mm
nonreinforced manhole.
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For personal use only.

Table 1. Compressive cylinder test results for the first manhole sample.

1st cylinder strength 2nd cylinder strength Average cylinder strength

Part designation (fc1’) [MPa] (fc1’) [MPa] (fc’) [MPa]
Monobase 52.40 52.60 52.50
Riser 1 58.90 56.90 57.90
Riser 2 54.50 55.40 54.95
Riser 3 56.50 59.00 57.75
Riser 4 56.50 59.00 57.75
Tapered top 57.50 57.70 57.60

different procedures were used during testing: slow loading
and fast loading. In slow loading, the load was applied in
25% increments (of the final ultimate load aimed in the per-
formed test) and each increment was maintained for 15 min.
After applying the maximum target load, the load was de-
creased in 25% increments (of the final ultimate load aimed
in the performed test) and each increment was maintained
for 15 min. In fast loading, the load was applied gradually
and increased continuously up to the maximum load, which
was maintained for 15 min. The load was then released
gradually. The 15 min period used in the tests was the time
needed for the structural response parameters to stabilize
and it was determined by trial tests on the manhole speci-
mens (Casadei et al. 2005).
The load tests are designated as 1PCLS, 4PCLS,
4PDLS, 4PDLF, 2PCLS, 2PCLF, and 1PTLF and were
performed on both 1200 mm manholes. The 1PXTLF was
performed on the 1200 mm nonreinforced manhole. All the
previously mentioned test types were performed on the
1500 mm nonreinforced manhole. The description of the
tests and their corresponding loading conditions are de-
tailed in Table 3.

Published by NRC Research Press

 Sabouni and El Naggar 323

pffiffiffiffi
Fig. 3. Particle size distribution: (a) concrete sand and (b) grade A ½5a fcr ¼ 0:6l fc0 flexural cracking strength
gravel.

8 9
>
> 1:00 rc  2150 kg=m3 >
>
< =
½5b l ¼ 0:85 1850 kg=m3 < rc < 2150 kg=m3
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications on 06/06/13

>
> >
>
: 0:75 rc  1850 kg=m3 ;

(CSA 2004) where Kh is the confinement factor (equal 1 for

unconfined concrete), fc’ is the 28 day compressive strength,
3o is concrete strain at maximum stress (&0.002), and rc is
the concrete mass density. Table 4 shows the values of the
different cracking stresses, modulus of elasticity and crack-
ing strains for the risers and bases of the tested manholes.
The modulus of elasticity of concrete was calculated using
eq. [2] to produce more conservative values for cracking
strain, and eq. [5] was used to calculate the first cracking
stress in Table 4.

4. Discussion and analysis of experimental

results
The experimental testing results of the 27 tests performed
on the three tested manholes are presented, discussed and
analyzed in the following paragraphs.
For personal use only.

4.1. Displacements during the manhole testing

Several linear displacement transducers (LVDTs) were
used to measure the manhole displacement and the displace-
ment of soil in critical locations during testing. The dis-
placements were measured to ensure that the manhole
settlement during testing remained within the allowable
range and that no excessive soil settlement occurred result-
3. Structural limiting strains ing in nonrealistic effects on the test results.
The main limiting strains for reinforced concrete sections The displacement of the manhole tops ranged from
are the steel yielding strain (3y), the concrete crushing strain 1.3 mm to 5.6 mm for all load tests. The maximum manhole
(3cu), and the concrete cracking strain (3cr). The steel yield- displacement was 60% lower than the permitted differential
ing strain was taken as 3y = 2  10–9 and the concrete deflection of 13 mm in the sewer and storm water network
crushing strain was taken as specified by the Canadian (CSA 2003). On the other hand, the displacement in the
Standard Association CSA 23.3 (CSA 2004), i.e., 3cu = upper layer of the soil surrounding the tested manholes
0.0035. The cracking strain is calculated as ranged from 1.4 mm to 11.5 mm for all tests. Every effort
was made to minimize the top layer soil disturbance after
fcr finishing the compaction and during the setting up for test-
½1 3cr ¼
Ect ing, despite this the top soil layer was still slightly disturbed
where fcr and Ect are the cracking strength and tension mod- before testing. This caused the measured displacement to be
ulus of elasticity of concrete, respectively. Standards and lit- slightly higher around the manhole due to the settlement of
erature provide several equations for calculating both the the disturbed top layer during testing. In actual field condi-
tension modulus of elasticity (Ect) and the cracking stress of tions, the pavement provided around the manhole top would
concrete. Some of these equations are as follows: usually reduce the settlement of the top soil layer surround-
ing the manhole.
2Kh fc0
½2 Ect ¼
3o 4.2. Pressure in soil beneath the manholes’ bases
Proper performance of the pressure cells was confirmed
(Kent and Park 1971) by monitoring the initial pressure readings at locations of in-
pffiffiffiffi stallation and before backfilling and comparing them to the
½3 Ec ¼ 4500 fc0 MPa for normal density concrete
factory initial readings (Geokon 2005). The pressure values
(CSA 2004) were then recorded after the installation of the manholes
pffiffiffiffi and backfill but before applying any loads. For the
½4 fcr ¼ 0:4 fc0 for normal density concrete 1200 mm reinforced manhole, the preloading pressure read-
ing of pressure cell H1 (0.5 m underneath the centre of the
(CSA 2006) manhole base) was 12% less than the theoretical value of

Published by NRC Research Press

 324
Table 2. Properties of used soil bed.
Soil property
Coefficient of curvature (Cc)
Uniformity coefficient (Cu)
Maximum particle size [mm]
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Compacted unit weight (g) [kN/m3]
Friction angle (f)
Modulus of elasticity* (E) [MPa]
Poisson’s ratio (n)
*Rollins and Sparks (2002).
Fig. 4. Standard CL-W truck (adopted from CSA 2006).
For personal use only.
the overburden pressure at this depth (6 m below the ground
surface). For the 1200 mm nonreinforced manhole, the pre-
loading pressure readings underneath the middle of the man-
hole (H1) and the edge of the manhole were 3% and 27%
less than the theoretical overburden pressure, respectively
(Table 5). Pressure cell H1 was at the same location in both
cases and gave comparable readings.
For the 1500 mm nonreinforced manhole, the preloading
pressure readings underneath the manhole at locations H1
and H4 were 3% lower and 42% higher than the theoretical
overburden pressure at this depth. The other pressure cells
had intermediate values.
The pressure readings for fast and slow loading tests were
comparable for the same loading conditions in all load tests.
The loading had a relatively small effect on the pressure
underneath the manhole base, which was attributed to the
large frictional resistance developed along the manhole ris-
ers and the length of the manhole. The increase in pressure
at location H1 underneath the 1200 mm reinforced manhole
ranged from 0.5 to 6.0 kPa for all tests. Pressure cells H1
and H3 installed underneath the 1200 mm nonreinforced
manhole experienced a pressure increase with loading rang-
ing from 8 to 28 kPa and 3 to 10 kPa, respectively. The
pressure profile for the 1200 mm nonreinforced manhole be-
fore loading and at maximum loading in each test is shown
in Fig. 5a at the elevation of the pressure cells (0.50 m
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 38, 2011
Concrete sand Grade A gravel
1.09 0.72
4.91 29.45
4.75 19
18.64 23
398 428
520 683
0.3 0.3
underneath the manhole base). These results show that the
pressure gradually increased from the edge to the centre of
the manhole. For the 1500 mm nonreinforced manhole, the
increase in pressure due to loading for all pressure cells
ranged from 3.0 to 29.0 kPa. Figures 5b and 5c show the
pressure profiles in both directions at 0.4 m beneath the
manhole base before loading and at maximum loading in
each test. These results show that the pressure gradually in-
creased from the edge to the centre of the manhole.
The currently followed manhole base design procedures
only account for the weight of the manhole part and the soil
on the tapered top when calculating the pressure used for the
design of the manhole base (as if it was standing alone). To
verify these procedures and to evaluate the effect of soil
structure interaction (i.e., interaction between the manhole
and surrounding soil) on the pressure at 0.5 m and 0.4 m
under the nonreinforced 1200 mm and 1500 mm diameter
manholes, the total pressure underneath the bases due to the
weight of: concrete manhole, soil on the tapered top, and
soil above the level of pressure cells and underside of the
manhole base was compared with the average experimental
pressure recorded at the same depth. The average pressure
values found from the pressure profiles for the 1200 mm
and 1500 mm nonreinforced manholes before loading
(Fig. 5) were found to be 99 kN/m2 and 148 kN/m2, respec-
tively. Multiplying these pressures by the corresponding
Published by NRC Research Press
 Sabouni and El Naggar 325

Table 3. Description of loading tests.

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Table 4. Cracking strains (3cr) for base and risers of tested manholes.

MPa
Manhole Average fcr’ fcr’ E103 E103 3cr 10–5 3cr 10–5 3cr 10–5
Manhole name part f c’ (eq. [5]) (eq. [4]) (eq. [2]) (eq. [3]) (1/3) (1/4) (2/4)
Reinforced Base 52.5 4.3 2.9 52.5 32.6 8.28 13.3 8.89
1200 mm Risers 56.2 4.5 3.0 56.2 33.7 8.01 13.3 8.89
Nonreinforced Base 64.5 4.8 3.2 64.5 36.1 7.47 13.3 8.89
1200 mm Risers 58.6 4.6 3.1 58.6 34.4 7.845 13.3 8.89
Nonreinforced Base 45.1 4.0 2.7 45.1 30.2 8.94 13.3 8.89
1500 mm Risers 58.3 4.6 3.1 58.3 34.4 7.86 13.3 8.89

manhole base area shows that a total load of 175 kN and
377 kN, were acting on the soil underneath the 1200 mm
and 1500 mm nonreinforced manhole bases, respectively.
These total loads are larger than the weight of material
above the pressure cell level calculated from Table 6 by
59 kN and 237 kN, for the 1200 mm and 1500 mm nonrein-
forced manholes, respectively. This extra load is attributed
to the fact that the manhole walls are carrying part of the
soil adjacent to the manhole by the friction between the
manhole walls and the soil (Tadros et al. 1989).
The effect of the proximity of the LSGTF strong walls on
the pressure under the manhole base was studied through a
numerical investigation. This investigation compared the
pressure directly under the manhole base for a model repli-
cating the tested manhole with the same LSGTF boundaries
and the same manhole with no walls and boundaries placed

Published by NRC Research Press

 326 Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 38, 2011

Table 5. Difference between theoretical overburden pressure and average experimental pressure under the 1200 mm and 1500 mm
nonreinforced manholes before loading.

Depth from Theoretical

Pressure ground level Pressure pressure Average measured Percentage difference
Tested manhole cell name [m] direction [kPa] pressure [kPa] % (from theory)
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Nonreinforce1200 mm H1 6.16 sv 117.4 113.3 3

diameter manhole H3 6.08 sv 115.9 84.6 27
Nonreinforce1500 mm H1 5.39 sv 124.0 176.0 –42
diameter manhole H2 5.39 sv 124.0 155.1 –25
H3 5.39 sv 124.0 136.7 –10
H4 5.39 sv 124.0 120.7 3
Note: Locations of pressure cells are shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5. Pressure profiles: (a) 0.5 m under 1200 mm nonreinforced
manhole base in x–x direction, (b) 0.4 m under 1500 mm nonrein-
forced manhole base in y–y direction, and (c) 0.4 m under
1500 mm nonreinforced manhole base in x–x direction.
15 m from the manhole. The results showed that the model
with the LSGTF wall had pressure higher by only 10% than
the other model with large boundaries. This confirms that
the strong walls had marginal effect on the pressure under
the manhole base.

4.3. Strains in the manholes’ bases

Prior to applying the loads, the manhole base would be
subjected to flexural stresses due to its own weight and the
surrounding soil (Kelkar and Sewell 1987; Petroff 1994;
El Mezaini 2006). Therefore, the results presented here rep-
For personal use only.

resent the change (increase or decrease) in tension due to the

various testing loads. The visual inspection of the three
manholes after completion of testing showed that no cracks
or crushing occurred in their bases. This indicated that the
strains at the manhole bases were less than the cracking and
crushing strains. In general, fast and slow loading tests re-
sulted in relatively comparable strain results for all tested
manholes.
The changes in steel and concrete strains due to maxi-
mum loading in each loading case for the 1200 mm rein-
forced manhole are shown in Table 7. The steel strain
gauges laying in the y-y direction (BP-2 and BP-5) experi-
enced larger increase and smaller decrease in tension strains
than those laying in the x-x direction (BP-3). This may be
attributed to the loading. For example, the tests 4PDLS and
4PDLF had the loads distributed wider in the x-x direction
and closer to the centre of the manhole than in the other di-
rection. It was also noticed that in all cases the increase in
the strain in BP-2 (which was closer to the centre of the
base) was larger than that for BP-5 that was closer to the
base edge. The strain readings from the steel strain gauge
BP-3 and the concrete strain gauge CCC (located close to
each other) were comparable in all tests. The concrete strain
gauge CCR readings showed smaller tension strain than
measured by CCL (located close to the edge of the base
and manhole risers). This was attributed to the influence of
the manhole risers on the curvature of the base. The maxi-
mum tension increase in the base due to loading was ob-
served during the 1PCLS test and had a value of 32  10–6,
which was about 60% less than the cracking strain of the
base. The strain values in the steel were much less than its
yield strain.
For the nonreinforced 1200 mm manhole, the strain
changes due to maximum loading in each loading case are
shown in Table 8. The maximum tension strain increase in

Published by NRC Research Press

 Sabouni and El Naggar
Table 6. Calculation of weight of 1200 mm and 1500 mm nonreinforced manholes and soil above pres-
sure cells and below the manhole bases.
Nonreinforced 1200 mm diameter manhole
Detail kN
Soil on tapered top 9.6
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Tapered top weight 25.0
Weight of 4.56 m riser @ 13 kN/m 59.3
Weight of base slab 6.4
Weight of 0.5 m of water 5.0
Weight of 0.3 m of grade A gravel 6.9
Weight of 0.2 m of concrete sand 3.7
Total load (P1200 mm dia.) 115.9
the base due to testing observed during the 1PCLS test was
18  10–6, which was about 24% of the cracking strain of
the base. By comparing the strain results for the base slab
of the reinforced and nonreinforced 1200 mm diameter man-
holes, it was clear that the reinforced manhole was more af-
fected by the loading because the stiffness of the reinforced
base was larger than the nonreinforced one (due to the pres-
ence of the steel reinforcement) so it attracted more load
(Dancygier and Yankelevsky 1996).
The base slab of the 1500 mm nonreinforced manhole
was instrumented with eight concrete strain gauges (see
For personal use only.
Fig. 2d for locations). The strain change due to loading of
this manhole is shown in Table 9 at the maximum applied
loads in each loading case. The high stiffness of the
305 mm thick base slab caused the strain changes due to
loading in all strain gauges to be almost equal. All loading
cases caused a slight increase in the values of the tension
strains in the manhole base except for the 1PCLS and
1PCLF tests, which caused the tension strain in the manhole
to decrease. The increase in tension strains due to loading
was less than 15  10–6, which was about 17% of the crack-
ing strain of the slab. The largest tension strain increase was
due to the 1PTXS test.
4.4. Strains in the manholes’ risers
The strain profiles herein are shown to give a view of the
risers’ response to manhole loading. The strain results
shown in this section represent the change in the state of
strain due to loading. The strain readings from the concrete
strain gauges for the 1200 mm manhole (shown in Fig. 6a)
were very close to the readings from the steel strain gauges
at the same heights (strain difference less than ±5  10–6 in
most loading cases). Therefore, average values of strain at
each height were used to establish strain profiles shown in
Fig. 6a. Strain profiles displayed an increase in compression
strains due to loading in all tests. This compression strain
was much less than the concrete crushing strain.
The maximum factored wheel load of the standard On-
tario truck (209 kN) is used as the design live load. The
measured axial strains in the risers due to loading are com-
pared with the calculated strains. For the compacted stiff
backfill soil and no fluctuation in the water table, no large
settlement of the backfill material relative to the manhole
occurred and thus no significant drag down forces is applied
on the manhole due to this loading case. Accordingly, the
327
Nonreinforced 1500 mm diameter manhole
Detail kN
Soil on tapered top 9.6
Tapered top weight 25.0
Weight of 3.36 m riser @ 18.9 kN/m 63.5
Weight of base slab 18.6
Weight of 0.4 m of grade A gravel 23.4
Total load (P1500 mm dia.) 140.1
axial strain due to loading (3A) can be given by (Petroff
1994)
Pd þ Pl þ Pw
½6 3A ¼
EpDm t
where Dm is the manhole mean diameter, t and E are the
thickness and modulus of elasticity of the risers, Pd and Pl
are dead and live loads and Pw is the drag down forces. The
calculated axial strain was 3A = 9.7  10–6.
Table 10 shows the percentage difference (%3diff) between
the average measured axial strain (3avg) for each loading
setup and the calculated strain, which is given by
ð3A  3avg Þ
½7 %3diff ¼  100
3A
It is noted from Table 10 that measured strains in 4PCLS
and 4PDLF were lower than the calculated strain by 68%
and 49%, respectively. On the other hand, the rest of the
tests showed strain values higher than the calculated strain,
with difference varying from 5% (2PCLF test) to 93%
(1PTLF test).
The hoop strain profiles (Fig. 6b) show that the 1200 mm
manhole experienced hoop tension in the upper portion (ex-
cept for the 2PCLS test) and the tension decreased with
depth. For the same loading setup, fast loading resulted in
lower tension values than slow loading and switched sign
farther from the base. The maximum hoop tension observed
was 67% less than the cracking strain. Considering that the
manhole risers are under hoop compression due to backfill
pressure (ACPA 1969, 2008; Petroff 1994), the hoop strains
in the risers are way less than the cracking strain under the
investigated loading conditions. This confirms the physical
examination of the risers showing no cracks.
The axial strain profiles for the 1500 mm nonreinforced
manhole risers are shown in Fig. 6c. In general, the fast and
slow tests for the same loading configuration had the same
strain trend but different values. For the 1PCLS and 1PCLF
tests, the manhole risers were under compression at the
strain gauge locations. This may be due to the drag down
force caused by the soil settlement under the point load.
This compression force was larger for the slow loading test
due to the increase of drag down force with time. In the
4PDLS and 4PDLF profiles, a small amount of tension was
observed in the stain gauges on the manholes transition riser
and the two risers below it. This may be attributed to the
Published by NRC Research Press
 328 Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 38, 2011

Table 7. Base steel and concrete strain gauge values at maximum loading for the 1200 mm reinforced
manhole.

Steel strain gauges Concrete strain gauges

Test name Max. load* BP_2 BP_3 BP_5 CCR CCC CCL
4PCLS 280 6.3 6.8 9.5 4.0 5.3 –2.5
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1PCLS 131 32.3 5.1 24.4 5.5 4.0 31.1

4PDLS 280 23.5 –6.2 14.4 –6.2 –10.5 14.7
4PDLF 280 3.7 –10.6 0.9 5.4 –9.0 0.8
2PCLF 175 –10.2 –35.6 –15.4 –35.4 –36.4 –7.6
1PTLF 185 17.6 –8.5 14.1 –8.2 12.2 15.2
*Maximum loading applied on the entire system.

Table 8. Base strain values for the 1200 mm nonreinforced manhole

at maximum loading.

Test name Max. load* CCL CCD CCU

1PCLS 175 17.3 15.9 17.4
4PCLS 280 9.2 10.7 10.0
4PDLS 280 –1.2 –11.8 0.2
4PDLF 280 –2.3 –2.2 –0.6
2PCLS 175 0.0 0.6 0.7
2PCLF 175 –0.5 –0.7 0.1
1PTLS 185 –4.0 0.3 –3.4
1PTLF 185 –7.0 1.8 0.2
For personal use only.

1PXTLF 209 1.7 –2.4 4.2

*Maximum loading applied on the entire system.

Table 9. Base strain values for the 1500 mm nonreinforced manhole at maximum loading.

Test name Max. load* SG1 SG2 SG3 SG4 SG5 SG6 SG7
1PCLS 175 –3.2 –2.9 –3.1 –2.9 –6 –2.3 –3.8
1PCLF 175 –0.9 –0.3 –0.6 –0.5 –1 –0.4 –1.5
4PCLS 280 4.8 4.8 7.0 4.6 5 3.7 5.9
4PCLF 280 –0.4 0.7 –1.4 1.3 2 0.2 0.4
4PDLS 280 4.2 2.6 3.6 3.3 5 1.6 3.7
4PDLF 280 4.3 2.7 3.0 3.3 5 2.3 3.4
2PCLS 175 7.0 8.8 9.4 7.3 11 7.8 9.8
2PCLF 175 –1.1 –0.8 –0.6 –0.9 0 –0.7 –1.6
1PTLS 185 5.5 4.2 5.6 4.7 6 3.4 5.4
1PTLF 185 0.8 2.2 1.8 2.0 4 1.7 0.0
1PTXLS 209 10.8 12.0 13.1 11.0 11 11.4 12.5
1PTXLF 209 3.7 2.4 4.1 2.6 7 2.0 4.0
*Maximum loading applied on the entire system.

fact that the load transferred to the sloped part of the transi-
tion riser caused some load eccentricity resulting in some
bending moment that caused tension in these risers (Petroff
1994). The eccentricity in the rest of the test setups was
smaller and resulted in tension in the risers in the slow load-
ing case only, except for the 1PTXLF loading (large concen-
trated load on the manhole top).
In general, the tension strains were much smaller than the
cracking strain of the section. Taking into consideration that
the manhole develops compression axial strains in the risers
under its own weight (Hossain and Lytton 1991; Petroff
1994), it is believed that the overall axial strain would be
even smaller. In addition, the compression strains developed
in the manhole risers due to some manhole loading was
much less than the concrete crushing strain. The physical
examination confirmed these conclusions, as no concrete
cracking or crushing was observed in the manhole risers.
5. Conclusions
Three full-scale circular precast concrete manholes were
tested in the large-scale geotechnical testing facility
(LSGTF). The base of one manhole was reinforced with
standard steel reinforcement, and the other two were not re-

Published by NRC Research Press

 Sabouni and El Naggar
Fig. 6. (a) Axial (vertical) strain profile in the 1200 mm reinforced
manhole risers’ from steel (SSG) and concrete (CSG) strain gauges,
(b) hoop (horizontal) strain profile in the 1200 mm reinforced man-
hole risers’ from steel strain gauges, and (c) axial (vertical) strain
profiles in the testing of the 1500 mm nonreinforced manhole risers
from concrete strain gauges.
Can. J. Civ. Eng. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications on 06/06/13
For personal use only.
inforced. The manholes were subjected to the critical load-
ing conditions associated with the standard Ontario truck
and the state of stress in the soil beneath the manhole base
and strains in the manhole due to loading were observed. No
concrete cracking or crushing was observed. The following
conclusions can be made:
329
Table 10. Percentage difference between average experimental ax-
ial strain (3avg) and calculated axial strain (3A) for the 1200 mm
reinforced manhole.
Average experimental Percentage difference
Tests name strain in riser (3avg) between (%3diff)
4PCLS –3.06 68
4PDLS –16.41 –70
4PDLF –4.96 49
2PCLF –10.19 –5
1PTLF –18.67 –93
 The truck loading had a small effect on the pressure un-
der the manhole base, due to the large frictional resis-
tance along the manhole risers and the depth of the
manhole base.
 The vertical pressure profiles at 0.5 m underneath the
manhole base showed largest values at the centre and de-
creased towards the edge of the base.
 Comparing the average pressure at 0.5 m underneath the
manhole base to self weight suggested that the manhole
walls transferred part of the weight of the soil surround-
ing the manhole to soil underneath it.
 The displacements observed in all tests were smaller than
the permitted displacement in the sewer and storm water
system.
 The maximum tension strain increase in the 1200 mm
diameter manholes bases due to loading was about 60%
less than the cracking strain.
 Small tension strains were observed in the nonreinforced
1500 mm manhole base (only 26% of the concrete crack-
ing strain) due to loading. This increase was almost equal
across the thick base due to its high stiffness.
 The axial compression strains in the 1200 mm diameter
manhole risers due to testing were much less than the
crushing strain of concrete.
 The maximum hoop tension strain in the 1200 mm dia-
meter manhole risers due to testing was about 67% less
than the cracking strain.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to
the Ontario Concrete Pipe Association and NSERC for sup-
porting this research. Thanks are also extended to Con Cast
Pipe, Hanson Pipe, and M-Con for providing us with the
tested manhole samples.
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