Mechanical Behavior of Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe Joints Under Rotation Action

To investigate the mechanical performance and failure modes of Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP) bell-and-spigot joints under conditions such as differential settlement, this study conducted a full-scale rotation test on a DN1400 PCCP joint and established a three-dimensional non-linear finite element model using ABAQUS. The experimental results indicate that when the relative rotation angle reaches approximately 1.92°, the primary failure mode is the slipping of the rubber gasket from the spigot groove, leading to sealing failure. Meanwhile, the strains in the concrete, mortar coating, and prestressing wires at the joint increase significantly with the rotation angle. The finite element simulation results align well with the experimental data, with an average error of 1.88%. Based on the validated model, a parametric analysis was performed on PCCP joints with diameters ranging from 1400 mm to 4000 mm. The study determined the ultimate relative rotation angle for different diameters based on the concrete visible crack criterion and revealed a significant size effect, characterized by a decrease in the ultimate rotation angle with increasing pipe diameter. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the design, construction, and safety assessment of PCCP pipelines.