In civil engineering, the invert level is the base interior level of a pipe, trench or tunnel; it can be considered the "floor" level. [1] The invert is an important datum for determining the functioning or flowline of a piping system. For example, the invert of a street sewer connection could affect the feasibility of adding a toilet in the basement of a house.
Conversely, the obvert level is the highest interior level, and can be considered the "ceiling" level, being the highest level of that sewer.
The bottom of the sewer is called the invert from a general resemblance in construction to an "inverted" arch. [2] An inverted arch is a rounded structure with its crown facing in the downward position. This is a common term in structural architect drawings. [3]
Invert Level is found through measuring the distance from the lowest level of a pipe, to a fixed datum. [4] A pipe laser, or another vertical distance measuring device is most commonly used for this. Invert levels are important for the drainage of a non-pressured fluid pipe. Typically, a good design requires that the invert level of the pipe will be lower (or at least not higher) for each section of pipe before it reaches its final destination. [5]
Many common types of pipe have pipe sections with a male and female end. These are sometimes known as the spigot and bell ends. The spigot end will fit inside the bell end of the next pipe section. It is important to know which one of these you are referring to because this will change the desired results of what you are measuring. Measurement should be taken from the bottom of the bell end. This will be the lowest point of the pipe, and also where the water will flow. [6]
Corrugated pipe will be measured differently than a smooth wall pipe. When trying to find the invert level of a corrugated pipe, you will want to use the ridge on the inside of the pipe as water will fill up the grooves before it will allow for a steady flow down the pipe. The diameter of the ridge on the inside of the pipe will also be the nominal value of the pipe. [7]
The River Effra is a former set of streams in south London, England, culverted and used mainly for storm sewerage. It had been a tributary of the Thames. Its catchment waters, where not drained to aquifer soakaways and surface water drains, have been incorporated into 1850s-built combined sewer sectors, devised by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. One drains Peckham, the other Brixton, then intended to flow towards Peckham. These generally flow east to be treated at Crossness.
A sanitary sewer is an underground pipe or tunnel system for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to a sewage treatment plant or disposal.
A storm drain, storm sewer, highway drain, surface water drain/sewer, or stormwater drain is infrastructure designed to drain excess rain and ground water from impervious surfaces such as paved streets, car parks, parking lots, footpaths, sidewalks, and roofs. Storm drains vary in design from small residential dry wells to large municipal systems.
A siphon is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in an inverted "U" shape, which causes a liquid to flow upward, above the surface of a reservoir, with no pump, but powered by the fall of the liquid as it flows down the tube under the pull of gravity, then discharging at a level lower than the surface of the reservoir from which it came.
A French drain is a trench filled with gravel or rock, or both, with or without a perforated pipe that redirects surface water and groundwater away from an area. The perforated pipe is called a weeping tile. When the pipe is draining, it "weeps", or exudes liquids. It was named during a time period when drainpipes were made from terracotta tiles.
A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom, the word can also be used for a longer artificially buried watercourse.
The Tank Stream is a heritage-listed former fresh water tributary of Sydney Cove and now tunnel and watercourse located in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The Tank Stream was the fresh water supply for the fledgling colony of New South Wales in the late 18th century. Today it is little more than a storm water drain. It originated from a swamp to the west of present-day Hyde Park and at high tide entered Sydney Cove at what is now the intersection of Bridge and Pitt Streets in the Sydney central business district. The catchment was 65 hectares, corresponding roughly the size of the Sydney central business district. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
A sump pump is a pump used to remove water that has accumulated in a water-collecting sump basin, commonly found in the basements of homes and other buildings, and in other locations where water must be removed, such as construction sites. The water may enter via the perimeter drains of a basement waterproofing system funneling into the basin, or because of rain or natural ground water seepage if the basement is below the water table level.
Hydraulic head or piezometric head is a specific measurement of liquid pressure above a vertical datum.
In physics, shear rate is the rate at which a progressive shear strain is applied to some material, causing shearing to the material. Shear rate is a measure of how the velocity changes with distance.
The Aqua Virgo was one of the eleven Roman aqueducts that supplied the city of ancient Rome. It was completed in 19 BC by Marcus Agrippa, during the reign of the emperor Augustus and was built mainly to supply the contemporaneous Baths of Agrippa in the Campus Martius.
First flush is the initial surface runoff of a rainstorm. During this phase, water pollution entering storm drains in areas with high proportions of impervious surfaces is typically more concentrated compared to the remainder of the storm. Consequently, these high concentrations of urban runoff result in high levels of pollutants discharged from storm sewers to surface waters.
A fitting or adapter is used in pipe systems to connect sections of pipe or tube, adapt to different sizes or shapes, and for other purposes such as regulating fluid flow. These fittings are used in plumbing to manipulate the conveyance of fluids such as water for potatory, irrigational, sanitary, and refrigerative purposes, gas, petroleum, liquid waste, or any other liquid or gaseous substances required in domestic or commercial environments, within a system of pipes or tubes, connected by various methods, as dictated by the material of which these are made, the material being conveyed, and the particular environmental context in which they will be used, such as soldering, mortaring, caulking, plastic welding, welding, friction fittings, threaded fittings, and compression fittings.
The original depth recorded while drilling an oil or gas well is known as the driller's depth.
A tremie is a watertight pipe, usually of about 250 mm inside diameter, with a conical hopper at its upper end above the water level. It may have a loose plug or a valve at the bottom end. A tremie is used to pour concrete underwater in a way that avoids washout of cement from the mix due to turbulent water contact with the concrete while it is flowing. This produces a more reliable strength of the product. Common applications include the following.
A Buchan trap is a device fitted in a domestic sewer pipe to prevent odours entering the pipe from the public sewer and permeating the house, a common problem before individual plumbing fittings were separately trapped. The trap is made from fireclay and uses a water seal to prevent air passing from the sewer to the pipe. Waste flows from the house through a U-bend in the trap. This means that there is always water in the pipe preventing the passage of anything from the other direction. The device is a large clay U-bend with an air-inlet/access point on the 'house' side. It is located below the ground level, but can be accessed through the air-inlet and sometimes a rodding hole.
Sliplining is a technique for repairing leaks or restoring structural stability to an existing pipeline. It involves installing a smaller, "carrier pipe" into a larger "host pipe", grouting the annular space between the two pipes, and sealing the ends. Sliplining has been used since the 1940s.
Cast iron pipe is pipe made predominantly from gray cast iron. It was historically used as a pressure pipe for transmission of water, gas and sewage, and as a water drainage pipe during the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
A gravity sewer is a conduit utilizing the energy resulting from a difference in elevation to remove unwanted water. The term sewer implies removal of sewage or surface runoff rather than water intended for use; and the term gravity excludes water movement induced through force mains or vacuum sewers. Most sewers are gravity sewers because gravity offers reliable water movement with no energy costs wherever grades are favorable. Gravity sewers may drain to sumps where pumping is required to either force sewage to a distant location or lift sewage to a higher elevation for entry into another gravity sewer, and lift stations are often required to lift sewage into sewage treatment plants. Gravity sewers can be either sanitary sewers, combined sewers, storm sewers or effluent sewers.
A sanitary manhole is a manhole that is used as an access point for maintenance and inspection of an underground sanitary sewer system. Sanitary manholes are sometimes used as vents to prevent the buildup of pressurized sewage gas. Additionally, they are used for debris removal, and application of chemicals such as degreaser and insecticide.