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Plastic pipe pressures in siphonic roof drainage systems

Article  in  Building Research and Information · February 2011

DOI: 10.1080/09613218.2010.527684

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Terry Lucke Scott Arthur

University of the Sunshine Coast Heriot-Watt University
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 Plastic pipe pressures in siphonic roof drainage systems
Terry Lucke1 and Scott Arthur2
1
Centre for Water Management and Reuse, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
2
School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH14-4AS, UK.
(tlucke@usc.edu.au)

ABSTRACT
Siphonic roof drainage is a highly efficient type of drainage system that is particularly suitable for large
buildings and other structures over approximately 4m in height. Many buildings worldwide such as Stadium
Australia in Sydney, Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong and the Rolls-Royce production facility in
Inchinnan, Scotland have been designed with siphonic roof drainage systems. Siphonic systems have much
appeal for architects and designers due to the many advantages they offer over traditional gravity driven roof
drainage systems. Although siphonic roof drainage systems are enjoying ever increasing popularity with
architects, there is still some uncertainty regarding the minimum pipe pressure class required for siphonic
pipework, especially in tall buildings. This is particularly the case in warmer countries since higher
temperatures can drastically decrease the strength of the pipework material used in siphonic systems
(typically PVC-U and HDPE). However, there is very limited information available on how plastic pipes
behave under the sub-atmospheric pressures that occur under operating conditions in siphonic systems. This
paper describes experiments conducted to investigate sub-atmospheric pressures in siphonic systems and
how they may be controlled by injecting air into vertical downpipes. Recommendations for minimum
pipework pressure classes are provided together with methods for limiting the minimum pressures without
significantly decreasing the system capacity. This paper will help engineers design siphonic systems with
more confidence that they will continue to perform adequately over their intended design life.
Keywords: siphonic roof drainage; negative pressure; critical buckling pressure

CONCLUSIONS
This text has demonstrated the basis of the uncertainty which exists in the design community regarding the
specification of appropriate pipework. Based on this identified research need, this text has presented a study
which has produced detailed experimental results relating to the behaviour of plastic pipes under the
negative pressures that occur in siphonic systems. This study has shown that:
1. PVC-U (SN4 class) pipes of 50, 65, 80 and 100 mm diameter are unlikely to fail by pipe wall
collapse due to negative pressures.
2. Some degree of caution should be exercised when specifying PVC-U (SN4) pipes of diameters
greater than 100 mm, particularly for siphonic drainage system downpipes in tall buildings.
3. PVC-U (SN8 class) pipes are unlikely to fail by pipe wall collapse due to negative pressures in
siphonic drainage systems.
4. Some degree of caution should be exercised when specifying HDPE (PN4) pipes of 250 mm and
315 mm diameters for siphonic drainage systems.
5. HDPE (PN6.3) 315 mm diameter pipe is unlikely to fail by pipe wall collapse due to negative
pressures in siphonic drainage systems.
6. A 100 mm diameter PVC-U (PN6) downpipe could withstand sudden blockages on the 16m high
experimental apparatus.
These findings will help engineers design siphonic systems with more confidence that they will continue to
perform over their intended design life. They also highlight the importance of correct plastic pipe class
specification to avoid potential problems that may lead to a system failure. This could have serious
consequences such as box gutter overtopping and consequent flooding damage.
Further research is required to investigate the relationship between operational negative system pressures
and calculated negative pressures in siphonic systems. Further research is also required to investigate the
possibility of using large diameter PVC-U (SN4) and HDPE (PN4) downpipes in tall buildings by
introducing air at specific intervals into the downpipe.
1

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