INGLES I Nombre y Apellido:

Especialidad: Ingeniería Civil

Prof. Mariana Carro

Lea detenidamente el texto y realice las actividades que se detallan a continuación:

I- Responde a las siguientes preguntas:
1- En una o dos oraciones explica qué es lo que propone el texto con respecto a las cañerías.
2- Menciona las tendencias en la industria sanitaria/de desagüe que las distintas empresas
tratan de satisfacer.
3- ¿De qué forma propone HOBAS Pipe USA Inc. solucionar las pérdidas en los empalmes o
juntas de las cañerías?
4- Según el texto, ¿Cómo pueden abordar los ingenieros el problema que se presenta con
respecto al rendimiento de dichos empalmes?
5- ¿Qué tipos de productos ofrecen las distintas empresas para mejorar el rendimiento y bajar el
costo?

II- Interpreta en español la información obtenida en los dos últimos párrafos bajo el
subtítulo “Trends”

Improving pipe performance

December 2010

Pipe manufacturers work to decrease pipe cost and joint leakage.

By Stephanie Hildebrandt

The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure gave the nation a
D- in wastewater. The report also noted that in order to meet increasing demand, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) estimated the United States must invest $390 billion during the next 20 years to
update or replace existing wastewater systems and build new ones.

Trends
Owners and engineers are looking for long-lasting, high-performance pipe, but in a down economy, they’re
also being cost-conscious.

“In tough economic times, the design engineer must strive to develop more cost-effective design solutions
that meet the design-life requirements,” said Andrew Jenkins, national plastic products manager,
CONTECH Construction Products Inc. “The key to their success will be their ability to communicate the
value of innovative solutions with their clients.”

Other cash-strapped agencies “are looking at non-traditional materials to promote competition and drive
project costs down,” said Greg Baryluk, Advanced Drainage Systems Inc.’s (ADS) water quality market
manager. Additional trends in the pipe industry include expanded opportunities for “green” infrastructure,
such as recycled content pipe, and testing and certification requirements for all pipe types, he added.

“New requirements for raw material testing/certification, manufacturing compliance, installation inspection,
and post-installation testing are all added requirements within sanitary and storm industries today,” said
David Martin, ADS. “The requirement for water-tight joint performance for both storm and sanitary systems
continues to be a design factor for many owners and engineers. New pipe types and structures are
evolving to fill this need. This year alone, two new ASTM standards were developed in the United States
for polypropylene pipe.

“These expanded testing requirements are directly related to an increasing trend of performance
awareness. Many traditional materials that were once considered to have no performance issues are now
being evaluated for material, installation, and performance compliance,” he added. Although these strict
requirements may enhance the quality of installations, they also increase costs, leading many to turn to
more cost-effective pipe materials, Martin said.
One of the most important performance requirements for specifiers is joint leakage. By reducing or
eliminating joint leakage, owners and engineers are saving water and, according to HOBAS Pipe USA Inc.,
decreasing total costs over time. One way of reducing or eliminating joint leakage is to use life cycle
analysis. “These models generally include the cost to install, operate, and maintain the line,” said Kimberly
Paggioli, P.E., vice president of marketing and quality control for HOBAS. “One example of such a model
is a project funded by participating industry members and the EPA Office of Wastewater through a grant to
the Fiberglass Tank & Pipe Institute. The model, which is centered mainly on joint leakage, predicts life
cycle costs for different infiltration rates of large-diameter sewer main collection system joints.”

Jerome Silagyi, P.E., manager of technical services, Lane Enterprises Inc., also supports the idea that one
of the largest growing factors influencing the use of drainage pipe is related to joint performance.
“Historically, the pipe application or the natural environment dictated the level of joint performance needed
to properly sustain a site,” he said. “This pragmatic approach was responsible for developing and defining
terms such as soil-tight or silt-tight. However, with increasing applications for underground detention and
water reclamation along with their green incentives, coupled with manufacturers differentiating themselves
in the marketplace with newer and better products, it seems today’s design engineer is under constant
pressure to specify tighter leakage requirements.”

So how can engineers address this issue when specifying pipe for stormwater or wastewater projects?
According to Silagyi, they can do so by understanding the difference between laboratory-certified joints
and actual field performance. “The level of leak resistance measured in a controlled environment does not
translate to in-ground performance and is not intended to do so,” he said. “The steeped pressure ratings
measured in the laboratory are designed to mitigate in situ leakage to acceptable levels, and there is no
clear-cut correlation between manufacturer certifications and actual performance. Moreover, the oft-used
term ‘water-tight’ is misleading specifiers to think in an absolute sense, resulting in unrealistic and
unattainable installation acceptance and testing requirements. Engineers must address the necessity of
stringent joint performance before opting for the ‘better’ product to eliminate any undue project costs and
prolonged construction delays.”

//Because pipelines serve as the foundation for many transportation and commercial projects, they
must be able to withstand the test of time. This means strength, durability, corrosion resistance,
fire/melt resistance, and sensitivity to installation are all important factors influencing the selection
of pipe materials for these critical projects, said Rick Traylor, P.E., vice president of technical
services, Rinker Materials Concrete Pipe Division.

To meet these expectations, engineers should consider a sound design method based on
nationally recognized specifications, such as from the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials, and accomplishing a successfully installed pipe system, Traylor said.
“Flexible pipe materials must have carefully constructed soil envelopes around the pipe to ensure
proper performance,” he said. “Rigid pipe materials are not as dependent upon the proper
construction of the soil envelope since the inherent strength of the product carries the majority of
the load. This makes the product less sensitive to proper installation.” //

Products
CONTECH offers DuroMaxx pipe, a high-performance, steel-reinforced polyethylene pipe that ranges from
24 inches to 96 inches in diameter. The polyethylene material is pressure-rated and reinforced with high-
strength steel to provide the structural capacity and to enable the use of high-performance materials,
Jenkins said.

To keep its products maintenance-free with a low life-cycle cost, HOBAS offers pipe with leak-free joints,
high structural strength, corrosion resistance, and hydraulics efficiency, Paggioli said. In addition, the
company responds to the needs of engineers, owners, and installers by providing a full engineering
department to assist designers with specification and installation advice, as well as a field service
department.

Rinker Materials Concrete Pipe Division aims to educate specifiers about the characteristics of concrete
pipe, including its performance and green attributes. Because of concrete’s longevity, concrete pipe
systems do not require rehabilitation or reconstruction often, enabling the consumption of fewer natural
resources and energy while decreasing traffic congestion and pollution, Traylor said. Concrete pipe utilizes
recycled materials — it is recyclable itself — and primary ingredients that are naturally occurring, he
added.

Conclusion
In the end, “Failing drainage infrastructure caused by relatively short-life materials has design engineers
more carefully contemplating the proper design and use of piping materials for current projects,” Traylor
said. It’s up to today’s civil engineers to implement tighter requirements, higher performance, and lower
costs, all while keeping the environment in mind.