Failure mechanisms and condition assessment of PVC push-fit joints in drinking water networks

This paper presents and discusses the significant role played by joints in the failures registered in drinking water distribution networks. The three most important failure mechanisms related are presented and a procedure to detect them through the visual measurement of the gap between pipes inside a joint is proposed. The procedure is proved to be a valuable source of information on joint condition after the assessment of a 600-m DN500 PVC pipe.