Drainage Works : Traditionally, manholes covers are made of cast iron. However, in the viewpoint of pipe maintenance, frequent opening of manhole covers has to be carried out.
Why are some manhole covers made of cast iron
while some are made of ductile iron?
Traditionally,
manholes covers are made of cast iron. However, in the viewpoint of pipe
maintenance, frequent opening of manhole covers has to be carried out. Therefore,
it poses potential safety hazard to the workers during the lifting-up process
of manhole covers because cast iron manhole covers are very heavy to normal
workers. Consequently, research has been conducted and ductile iron is
considered as a better choice than cast iron because it can resist the same
traffic loads with lower self-weight. Moreover, as ductile iron is
less brittle than cast iron, the traditional cast iron manhole covers are more
susceptible to damage and thus requires higher maintenance cost.
However, ductile iron manhole covers do suffer from some demerits. For instance, owing to
their relative low self-weight, vehicles passing over these manhole covers
would lead to the movement of covers and generate unpleasant noises. To solve
this problem, instead of increasing the self-weight of ductile iron manhole
covers which similarly causes safety problems to workers during regular
maintenance, the covers can be designed to be attached to the manhole frames
which hold them in firm position.
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