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Pipe Gradients

Above ground and below ground horizontal drainage pipes should be laid to
an adequate gradient.

Gradients from 1 in 40 to 1 in 110 will normally give adequate flow velocities.

A gradient of 1 in 80 is suitable for commencing calculations for pipe schemes.

If a gradient is too steep i.e. steeper than 1 in 40, the liquid may run faster than the solids in
the sloping foul water pipe thus leaving the solids stranded, which could then block the pipe.

If the gradient is not steep enough, i.e. less than 1 in 110, then the pipe could still block if the
solids slow down and become stranded.

The fall in a pipe may be defined as the vertical amount by which the pipe drops over a distance.
The distance can be between sections of pipe or between manholes. The diagram below show
pipe fall and distance.
A gradient may be defined as fall divided by distance.

GRADIENT = FALL / DISTANCE

For example is a 24 metre section of drainage pipe has a fall of 0.30 metres, calculate the
gradient.

Gradient = 0.30 / 24

Gradient = 0.0125

This can be converted into a gradient written as a ratio or 1: some number.

Gradient = 1 / 0.0125 = 80

Gradient = 1 in 80

The above formula may be rearranged for Fall if the gradient is known:

FALL = GRADIENT X DISTANCE


For example, calculate the fall in a 50 metre section of foul water pipework if the
gradient is to be 1 in 80.

A gradient of 1 in 80 is converted to a number instead of a ratio.

1 / 80 = 0.0125

Fall = Gradient x Distance

Fall = 0.0125 x 50

Fall = 0.625 metres or 625mm.

The previous diagram may be completed by adding a pipe gradient.


Invert Levels

The Invert Level of a pipe is the level taken from the bottom of the inside of the
pipe as shown below.

The level at the crown of the pipe is the Invert level plus the internal diameter of
the pipe plus the pipe wall thickness. It may be necessary to use this in calculations
when level measurements are taken from the crown of a pipe.

Manholes
A manhole or access chamber is required to gain access to a drainage system for
un-blocking, cleaning, rodding or inspection. A typical manhole is shown below.
Manholes may be manufactured from masonry or precast concrete. Sometimes
several precast concrete rings are used to form a manhole which speeds up the on-
site construction process. Normally deep manholes below 1.0 metre in depth
require step irons to assist access for a workman.

Manholes and access chambers are also manufactured in PVC. An access chamber
is not usually large enough to admit a person but is suitable for access by cleaning
rods or hose and they are used for domestic applications, a common size of plastic
access chamber is 450mm diameter. For the domestic market plastic, fibreglass or
galvanised steel lids may be used but cast iron lids are required where traffic
crosses.
A back drop manhole is used in areas where the surface level slopes as shown
below.

If the undergroung sewer pipe is to stay below ground it must follow the average
gradient of the slope. This invariably means that the pipe gradient becomes too
steep, resulting in the solids being left stranded in the pipe therefore causing a
blockage.

To overcome this problem the back drop manhole was developed, as shown below.
An easier way to construct a back drop manhole is to use an internal vertical
section of pipe as shown below.
Size
Finding the fall
You will not always work on sites that need trenches of exactly 40 m or 50 m to make it easy to
calculate the grade. You will be planning trenches of many different lengths throughout your
working life. You will also have to take into account the depth of the authority connection point
on each site.

It is your responsibility to calculate the slope needed in every trench to meet the minimum grade
requirement and ensure adequate depth of cover at the upstream end. You need to calculate the
fall.

Fall is the difference in level between two points. In plumbing work the fall is always in the
direction of the flow.

Fall is calculated using the following formula. There is a slight difference in the formula
depending if the grade is expressed as a percentage or a ratio.

Note: there will sometimes be a minor variance in the fall calculation answer depending if the
grade is expressed as a percentage or ratio. This is due to the inexact rounding of the figures
when the ratio is converted to a percentage.
Worked examples

Finding the fall of a pipe Finding the fall of a trench


Worked example 1 - Finding the fall of a pipe

A 6 m length of 100 mm pipe laid at a minimum gradient of 1.65% or 1:60 would have the
following fall:

The drain, at the point it enters the sewer, must be at least 99 mm deeper than the drain at the
upstream end.

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