ABSTRACT
In the case of linear structures such as sewers, an important issue is to determine the soil-water conditions along the route of the designed conduit. The exact definition of these conditions requires costly geotechnical investigations. To reduce the cost of such research, test holes are made over relatively long distances of usually about 100 m. This may lead to an incorrect determination of the bedding conditions of a conduit, which is hazardous for its safety. Another threat to safety is a change in conduit bedding conditions, which is caused by the negligent compaction of backfilling in the area of a sewer’s foundations. The paper presents the results of analysis of the impact of changes in soil-water conditions and also the impact of assembly errors related to the provision of required conduit bedding conditions on the state of their safety. The safety state of conduits made of both flexible and rigid pipes laid in trenches with supported walls was analysed.
