A review of design practices of thrust blocks for water pipelines in Hong Kong

In water pipeline design, the thrusts at bends, tees, tapers, valves and blank ends are usually restrained by the provision of mass concrete thrust blocks which may be huge in size especially those for large diameter pipes. These large blocks may be difficult to construct and may also cause difficulty to find room for other underground utilities. The objectives of this study are to review the design practices for thrust blocks used in Water Supplies Department (WSD) in Hong Kong and to look for any cost-effective and feasible alternatives of anchoring the pipelines.