Sep. 23, 2024
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Drainage structures must be strong, durable and designed to allow for optimal water or liquid flow. To find out why corrugated steel is widely used for the creation of stockpile tunnels and culverts, let&#;s start with a closer look at the properties of corrugated steel.
These are water channelling pipes that are installed under a dam or used underneath bridges or roads to lead water away from surfaces into channels to move the water to storage systems, dams or the ocean. The steel corrugated culvert pipes are made through a process whereby the steel plate is corrugated and rolled into a circle with a joint.
The corrugation increases the load strength in addition to structural integrity. The corrugation, combined with the rolled pipe, increases the joint stiffness while also increasing the shaft resistance strength.
The sheets used in the making of these are hot-dip galvanised. This process entails the bathing of the metal in a hot molten zinc bath to cover every corner and space of the sheet surface. With a thin layer of zinc that binds with the metal to create a strong bond against corrosion, the sheet becomes rust resistant, which is essential for drainage solutions. All components in the making of these solutions are also hot-dip galvanised. These include the joints and fasteners. Each sheet and component are hot-dip galvanised according to strict international standard requirements.
Although the pipe joints have a level of stiffness, the metal pipes are flexible, making them suitable for lateral displacement. These offer superb tensile strength, as well as deformation and settlement resistance. Made for placement in expansive and soft soil, the corrugated steel pipes are also suitable for areas where foundation load support capacity is limited.
The pipes are pre-manufactured, helping to reduce the installation time. This also makes it suitable for installation in areas suffering from ground frost conditions.
Because the drainage structures are built off-site, the environmental footprint at the installation site can be lower. The longer it takes to complete construction on site and the more materials must be brought to a site, the more damage the immediate environment experiences. With the corrugated steel made at the Armco Superlite factory, it is possible to have a lower environmental impact project due to fast installation on site.
On-site installation of the drainage structures only entails foundation treatment, soil removal, placement of sand and stone aggregate and placement of the pipes. By reducing the workload required on site for installation, the project engineering company saves on labour. This translates into cost savings for the company.
A standard design is applied. This makes it possible to have consistency in performance. Also, since the product is made off-site at a factory for the making of the steel culvert pipes for drainage structures and stockpile tunnels, production of the pipes is not affected by issues at the installation site and environmental factors.
Because the corrugation and the pipe&#;s wall thickness can be custom-made to meet the fill height needs of the client, these pipes are well-suited for application in shallow, as well as deep-filling areas.
Where it is necessary to build the drainage structures on-site, it is possible to get corrugated panels, already curved according to client requirements. This adds another layer of flexibility in design and construction.
The service life of these drainage structures ranges from 25 years plus up to 70 years. With such durability, the costs for the company over the installed culvert&#;s lifetime are relatively low. One of the requirements for sustainability is that a product must be durable with a long service life. This is exactly the case when using the corrugated metal pipes for this purpose and stockpile tunnels in mines.
Different shapes are possible
The solutions can be round, half-moon or oval to meet client application requirements.
Different assembly options
Assembly can be nested or flanged to meet the client&#;s specific application needs, whether for aggregate tunnels or drainage structures.
Can be used for agricultural irrigation and other applications as well
Apart from the widespread usage in drainage structures, the corrugated metal pipe sections can also be used in the making of agricultural irrigation systems. When people think of corrugated metal culverts, drainage structures normally come to mind. But these sheets are far more versatile and can be used in the making of pedestrian tunnels, under-passes, hangers, warehouses, animal shelters, refugee shelters, eco-friendly crossings, bridges, ammunition storage facilities, tunnels for conveyor belt-based transportation of mine aggregate materials, ventilation ducts, and under-dam drainage, among many other applications.
Horseshoe-shaped tunnels
Although the round pipe culverts are usually installed, it is possible to have horseshoe tunnels that can also be installed at bridges and serve as drainage structures. The possibilities are endless because of the flexibility, the structural integrity and the manufacturing capacity of Armco Superlite. It is also possible to use these and other shaped corrugated steel pipes for sewage systems.
Liner plates
Where you need reinforcement of existing pipes and culverts, it is possible to install liner plates. These are used for lining the tunnels under highways and for lining those installed in soft soil areas.
Why purchase from Armco Superlite?
As a firm with an international footprint and a long history of the manufacturing and supply of a range of steel products for the construction, road building and safety, mining and engineering industries, our product quality and manufacturing standards have stood the test of time.
Our product specialists are here to help you make an informed buying decision. Apart from our standard products, we produce custom lengths and sizes to meet the requirements of our clients. We have quality control measurements in place to ensure consistency in quality and performance. We make sure our products meet strict quality, performance, manufacturing and safety standards, both locally and internationally.
We have well-equipped plants where we have standardised processes in place to ensure galvanisation is done according to best practices. The fact that our products are widely used across industries ranging from mining to engineering, road construction, dam building, and agriculture speaks to our competence and reputation for excellence.
Our firm understands the importance of meeting project completion deadlines. With large production capacity, we&#;re able to meet fast bulk production needs, ensuring your firm can meet your project deadlines. Our processes are cost-effective, also meaning lower cost to your firm.
Since durability, cost-effectiveness, costs to the company and the quality of products used in construction projects are important factors to consider for improving a company&#;s sustainability profile, buying from a supplier that produces products to meet these requirements is a definite plus. Once again, we meet these requirements. By purchasing locally, you also support the South African economy and job creation.
As a local manufacturer, we&#;re able to deliver nationwide. This also means cost and time savings for your firm. You don&#;t have to wait for imports or deal with import duties. In addition, you can trust our guarantees. Our installation guidance is also beneficial.
Our product range is comprehensive enough to meet a wide range of application needs. In addition to a full range of culvert pipes for stockpile tunnels and drainage solutions, we handle the galvanisation processes at our galvanising plants. We also manufacture other steel products related to road safety of which the W-beam guardrails require no introduction.
View our products download page for downloadable brochures on our range of steel products for mining, industrial and construction industries. These include, but are not limited to:
Maxwell-Drive-Bridge
Charcoal Kilns
Corrugated Steel Pipe Bevel Specification
Corrugation and Standard Profiles
Corrugated Steel Structures
MP68 &#; Notch Nestable Pipe
MP100 Bolted Nestable Pipe
MP100 Horseshoe Arch
MP100
MP200 &#; Arch Section KB
MP200 &#; High Profile Pipe Arch MA
The company is the world’s best Corrugated Tunnel supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
MP200 &#; High Profile Underpass UA
MP200 &#; Horse Shoe Arch HSA
MP200 &#; Low Profile Pipe Arch MB
MP200 &#; Low Profile Underpass UB
MP200 &#; Standard Underpass UC
MP200 &#; Super-Span Ellipse SSE
MP200 &#; Super-Span High Profile Arch SSHA
MP200 &#; Super-Span Low Profile Arch SSLA
MP200 &#; SuperSpan Pear SSP
MP200 Cast in Angles
MP200 Multiplate Pipe
MP200 Ring Beams
MP200 Round Pipe KA
MP200 Standard Profile Diagrams
MP200 Super-Span Thrust Beams
Void Formers and Pile Casings
Where to get more information about our products for drainage structures
Enquire about the thickness, wave-curve sizes, the pipe sizes, lengths, customised solutions and lead time required. We&#;re here to answer your questions and help you make an informed buying decision.
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I have used polytunnels since when I bought 3 of 18×55 feet (5.5x17m) and they served me well except that their 2.5cm/1in tubes were too thin for my exposed site. In a gale of March , one of them collapsed after the wind ripped out its polythene on the far side &#; see below for how that works.
If possible, I would buy the largest you can fit into your area, because the space is useful for storage and drying washing as well as for growing! One always finds more to plant in a tunnel. Hoops are 5 to 6 feet (1.5-1.8m) apart so length is multiples of that. I reckon that 20-30 feet is a good length for even ventilation, whereas tunnels of say 60 feet length can have pockets of &#;dead&#; unventilated air in the middle.
My current tunnel is 42ft long and works especially well for winter salads, without any supplementary heat.
Winter salad plants on 19th December , before a pick for Christmas. They carry on producing new leaves until spring, from transplanting in October.However any orientation is possible and I have tried many, with success. Other important factors to consider are aligning a tunnel up-and-down any slope (beds across slope are harder to water and mulch), and having the doors at convenient points for access and watering.
Plants like fresh air and its important they have enough, rather than striving for maximum heat. Air in a polytunnel circulates from one end to the other, and if possible I recommend leaving a gap between the top of doors and the frame above them, say 5cm/6in, so that a small amount of air can always flow through and increase carbon dioxide levels, without a draught at ground level. I find that winter salads stay healthy, without mildew problems, and yet without any need to open and close doors for much of the winter. One job saved!
The option of side vents (instead of the polythene going to ground level) is in my opinion not necessary or suitable for vegetables in temperate climates such as here. Side vents reduce temperature in windy weather, while doors at both ends offer enough possibility to admit fresh air. Its cheaper and simpler to cover the hoops with polythene only, to ground level and below. Keep side vents for long tunnels only, above a length of 40-50 feet (13-16m).
I recommend burying the polythene all around in trenches of one spade&#;s depth, in order to have a polythene barrier in the ground. This protects against:
It is sometimes claimed to be easier and quicker to attach polythene at ground level to battens or rails. However this means you need to dig holes for the foundation tubes, rather than simply knocking them in. Also for windy sites, you may need some concrete in there. All the fixings you need involve extra expense, and are mainly worthwhile if there is simply no room to dig a trench.
My First Tunnels polytunnel has base rails, professionally installed, and they are working well. I asked the fitters to leave a polythene skirt below the base rail (see photo below), which we then dug into the soil.
When burying polythene in a trench, tubes simply need to be hammered into the ground about 30&#;45cm/12&#;8in (where their role is to give the structure some rigidity, that is all). When polythene is bured, the tubes are not anchoring the structure in place, but keeping it steady in wind.
In contrast to this, when polythene is attached to a rail and not buried, the foundation tubes have more importance as they are what holds the structure in the ground (rather than the buried polythene) and so you need more expensive tubes with metal brackets on their ends, and each one requires a dug hole, sometimes with concrete.
Although an &#;extra&#;, I would always buy these so you have support for climbing plants, from tomatoes and cucumbers to beans and melons. They span across from side to side at about or just over 6ft (2m) high, so you can walk underneath, yet also reach to tie strings or stakes.
Polythene needs replacing every 5-8 years, depending how windy your site is and how tight you can stretch it. Polythene is easier to make tight when the cover is put on in warm sunshine, if possible. I have often done it in January and managed alright, but the skin is definitely slacker and more prone to damage than when clad in warm sunshine.
The First Tunnels fitters have achieved a tight finish on my tunnel, erected in May warmth. They reckon the polythene can last for 15 years! This tunnel is 12ft longer than my first one, the same width, and has lovely straight sides.
23rd May after two First Tunnels fitters had started at 11am the previous day &#; 18x42ft with lovely straight sides, and a polythene skirt from the base rails&#;
More types become available and choosing is then difficult. From tunnels I have seen with the more expensive thermic or anti-condensation polythene, I doubt that their extra cost is worthwhile. I recommend the standard, light-diffusing polythene which admits around 89% of daylight. Always use horticultural grade polythene, which has a UV stabiliser, without which it would be brittle and break within a year.
A friend recently noticed the great clarity of my standard, light diffusing polythene which is now 3 years old. I had recently washed it with a wet sheet and brush to remove lichen and moss.
You use these a lot so suffice to say, they are worth spending money on to have the ones you like. Home-made is certainly possible, note my tips on ventilation. It's the area where you can be most creative, especially if you enjoy carpentry. For door frames, 4×2 timbers are good.
I like hand watering, but it needs more time. I have two spray lines supplied by First Tunnels but do not use them a lot because the distribution is uneven. There are several dry zones where we need to water by hand afterwards.
For information on polytunnel growing, have a look at my Polytunnel and Greenhouse Growing YouTube playlist.
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