Abstract
The vertically acting load of soil causes a deflection of the pipe, which in turn results in a horizontal supporting soil pressure to show up. The pipe wall will be then subjected to both compression stresses and bending stresses. As consequence, the design of flexible PE pipe buried in the ground follows quite different rules from those classically accepted for rigid pipes. The article presents the soil burial loads of flexible pipes. The short-term, the long-term maximum vertical defelction and the resistance to buckling were determined. Keywards: polyethilene pipe, buried plastic pipes, strength, buckling