Bell-shaped pipes: purpose, types, application practice

Bell-shaped pipes are widely used in industry, urban development facilities, where it is required to organize pipeline systems for various purposes. In modern construction, the arrangement of the so-called zero cycle is very important - the foundation that prepares the site for installation work on the construction of the facility. At this stage, the construction of underground utilities is not complete without the use of structures such as a bell pipe.

Pipes with a bell enable in the shortest possible time to install highways for various purposes

Areas of use for pipes with bell

Transportation of liquids, sewer, storm water systems is impossible without the use of a special type of pipe. The bell-shaped construction is reliable and easy to use, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and practical to operate. Its application is widespread:

• industrial and civil construction;
• hydraulic works of various directions;
• road construction;
• construction of railway facilities and tracks;
• Agriculture.

Pipe designs are made of various materials. The main ones that have firmly entered the practice of use are concrete, cast iron and plastic. Each of the species has its advantages and disadvantages. Technical characteristics of these products determine the scope of their application.

Types of bell pipes, their quality characteristics

A pipe with a bell, among all other advantages, has the main advantage - ease of installation, manufacturability in operation, relatively low installation costs.

Concrete products are especially popular. Their prime cost becomes lower as the pipe diameter produced increases. The bell system itself is very practical. An extension is formed at one end of the pipe, which serves as a seat for the other pipe. The junction is sealed in a way that is most effective for a given type of product.

Bell-shaped products have an extension at the end into which the edge of the subsequent pipe is inserted

Concrete and cast-iron pipe joints are choked with sealing concrete and resin compositions with a filler, and plastic ones with rubber sealing rings that fix the mounting connection. For concrete and cast iron products, special rubber sealing cuffs can also be used. They improve the tightness of the joint, making them waterproof.

Note! The sockets in the pipeline system are located against the direction of fluid movement.

As a rule, cast-iron and plastic bell-shaped systems are mounted for sewer and other indoor systems. Concrete products are most often used in outdoor sewer or drainage collectors. It usually requires large diameters capable of freely conducting bulk liquid masses.

Socketless pipes, their connection, principles of use

Socketless pipes are also popular and practical in application, installation and operation. The fundamental difference from the bell-shaped versions is that the assembly of pipes is carried out using additional devices that provide connection and sealing of the joint.

Socketless pipes are connected using couplings, cuffs and other fittings

For reinforced concrete structures, a concrete flange serves as such a connecting element, and for a cast-iron pipe, a clamp. The absence of a bell in some cases simplifies the installation of the pipeline, shortens the construction time. Basically, such products are used in the construction of pressure-free systems. But, using special cuffs, which increase the degree of sealing and strength, pipelines can perform pressure functions, that is, hold the pressure of the internal environment. The main application of such products is a drainage system or socketless sewerage.

Assortment of concrete products. Manufacturing Features

Concrete bell-shaped pipes are used in civil and industrial construction. They are inexpensive, practical, durable in operation. Most often they are used in the construction of sewers, urban storm systems, water bypass pipelines in road construction. According to their purpose, reinforced concrete products are divided into:

• non-pressure;
• pressure head;
• designed for all types of road construction.

Socketed pipes made of concrete are pressure and non-pressure type

The industry produces three main types of bell pipes: type T, type TB and type TV. They differ in the method of production, load characteristics, and other special parameters provided by GOST.

Reinforced concrete pressureless pipes of type T are used when laying sewer systems, drainage systems for ground and underground waters, and other liquids non-aggressive to this product. They withstand significant loads, inexpensive in cost of manufacture, incorporate accessible materials.

Type TB is able to carry increased load during operation. They can be supplied with rubber o-rings, which simplify the installation of joints, making them airtight.

Important! Such pipelines can be used as pressure pipes for pumping water and other liquids that are neutral to the concrete composition.

For example: the most used pipe dimensions are bell-shaped products 5 m long, 1 m in diameter and 75 mm wall thickness. They are optimal from the point of view of the sewer collector, make up a convenient load for transportation by car - 5 pieces each on a specialized platform.

Pipes of type TV are designed for use in road construction. These are especially durable products, equipped with o-rings, capable of withstanding the pressure of soil layers and the operation of the road flooring for a long time. They are divided into four groups according to the bearing characteristics:

• Group 1 - the ability to bear the pressure of backfill soil and roadbed up to 5 meters thick;
• 2 group - load capacity up to 10 meters;
• 3 group - load capacity up to 15 meters;
• Group 4 - up to 20 meters of backfill thickness.

The bell-shaped concrete sewer pipe is a rigid and reliable construction, the service life of which exceeds 50 years. This is what makes it a special technology for the use of durable concrete, special reinforcing structures and high-tech manufacturing methods. The price-quality ratio of this design is optimal, therefore, most design and construction organizations, when searching for the necessary pipes for organizing the construction of hydraulic systems, opt for concrete products.

Concrete pipes with a bell and without are most often used in drainage and sewer systems

Cast iron and plastic bell systems

The use of cast iron and plastic bell pipes has long been rooted in the practice of construction. The cast-iron pipe is a long-standing construction that provides a sewer system and a drainage system. It is in our very technological time, often applicable for the same purposes. Both cast iron and plastic are used in the internal structures of drainage systems and the sewage system.

Cast iron pipe is often used as a reliable protection of cable networks during their underground installation. It protects the contents from moisture and mechanical stress, is not subject to burning. When protection from the cold is required, a special insulation is used. One of the drawbacks of a cast iron pipe is its susceptibility to corrosion. For long-term operation of such a pipeline, corrosion protection is required.

Recently, bell-shaped types of plastic pipes are widely used. They are very practical, lightweight and have almost the same characteristics as cast iron pipes, except for mechanical stability. In their manufacture, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, high or low pressure polyethylene are used.

Pipes made of polymers are equipped with sealing rubber bands in the socket, this greatly simplifies and speeds up their installation

The scope of these pipes is the same as traditional cast-iron or concrete structures. The difference is in the technological capabilities of the pipe material. Modern fixation of the bell-shaped joint is carried out using a rubber o-ring, which provides joint sealing. Welding is also possible. The multi-colored design gives the pipes an aesthetic appearance and indicates its purpose in the piping system. One of the important advantages is that plastic systems are not subject to corrosion.

Practical use of bell pipes

Bell-shaped products are widely used for organizing piping systems designed to transport liquids in the mode of pressure and pressureless use cases. Reinforced concrete structures of large diameter are used for sewage, rainwater drainage from city streets. Cast iron and plastic systems have the same purpose, only mainly inside buildings, structures, various civilian facilities, private possessions.

Pipelines are used as protective transport systems for cabling, tracing heating and other types of technological networks. Almost all types of bell-shaped pipes withstand a wide range of influence of temperatures, pressure of surface earth masses. Well-sealed structures provide the required internal pressure of the fluid composition transported through the pipeline.

Technological features of installation

Structures such as large-diameter pipelines made of reinforced concrete require increased attention and costs during installation and installation. The solid weight and dimensions of the products require a large number of specialists, special equipment. Complex and costly transportation of bulky concrete products. However, all this is offset by operational benefits. Reinforced concrete drainage systems, sewer collectors, flow systems will serve people for decades.

The heavy weight of some types of pipes makes it difficult to work with them by the need to attract equipment

Note! An important technological aspect is the observance of GOST on bell pipes, depending on the direction of their application.

The service life, the purpose of use, the depth of the underground, the operating conditions are important factors that must be considered when designing and constructing pipeline systems.

When installing cast iron pipelines, it is important to correctly calculate the trace itself. Pipes have a standard length.For example, cutting a cast-iron pipe is a complex and painstaking task, so this factor should be taken into account when laying. An important point is the choice of the diameter of the products, parts for their branches, method of attachment.

The same technological requirements are met when working with plastic pipes. Of course, this type of product is more acceptable in domestic and wide industrial applications. Flexible properties of the material of plastic products allow you to perform installation work without the use of special equipment, attracting a large number of specialists. But any sewage system, drainage system will serve for a long time and reliably only if all technological requirements regarding its installation are met.