Field Performance of Corrugated Pipe Manufactured with Recycled Polyethylene Content

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Report 870: Field Performance of Corrugated Pipe Manufactured with Recycled Polyethylene Content explores the use of corrugated high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe manufactured with recycled content and proposes guidelines for manufacturing these pipes to ensure they meet the service life requirements for the given application. This project expounded on the research published in NCHRP Report 696. The research consisted of manufacturing several large diameter corrugated HDPE pipes out of various blends of virgin and post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials commonly used in land drainage applications and evaluating these pipes in the field and laboratory to determine their service life in typical installed conditions. PCR materials were the focus of this project as they are more readily available and typically used in the corrugated HDPE pipe industry than post industrial recycled materials. However, the research is applicable to both types.