6 inch Schedule 80 Steel Pipe Bollard

Heavy Duty Bollard

The 6 inch Schedule 80 Steel Pipe Bollard has a much thicker wall than the 6 inch Schedule 40 Bollard. These can be used for storefront protection or anywhere you want a heavy duty bollard. If using to protect from ram raids, be sure the concrete footings are commensurate with the strength of these pipes. Otherwise it’s a waste of money.

Balancing a Bollard’s Points of Failure 

When a bollard fails in a collision, either the steel will bend or shear off, or the footing will shift or tilt, or some degree of both. When trying to minimize vehicle penetration (vehicle getting past the bollard), I very stiff pipe, like the Schedule 80, will perform best if the footing is heavy and perhaps reinforced. That way, the bollard may remain upright longer at the moment of impact.

Counterpoint: Designing in Intentional Failure

If the Bollard is not protecting people or real property, and is for instance, in the middle of a parking lot, or simply holds a sign, you may want to plan in failure to protect the vehicle occupants. These might be called passive bollards. Passive bollards should not create catastrophic damage or injury when hit. Not unlike break-away signs, they should purposely fail when hit at higher speeds. In this case, schedule 80 is definitely “too strong” of a bollard. Basically, be sure you need this weight of pipe for your application.