Manhole

manhole

1. a shaft with a removable cover that leads down to a sewer or drain

2. a hole, usually with a detachable cover, through which a man can enter a boiler, tank, etc.

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manhole [′man‚hōl]

(engineering)

An opening to provide access to a tank or boiler, to underground passages, or in a deck or bulkhead of a ship; usually covered with a cast iron or steel plate. Also known as access hole; manhead.

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manhole

manhole

A covered opening in a street which provides access for cleaning and repairing of a sewer beneath, or for repairing a conduit for electric underground piping or electric cables.

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Manhole 

a structure in a sewer network used for inspecting, cleaning, and flushing the sewers.

The manhole usually consists of a work area and, above it, an entrance area, a hatchway, and a lid. There are inspection manholes, drop shafts, and flushing shafts. Among the inspection manholes there are line shafts, built at straight sections of the sewer network; corner shafts, where the line changes direction; juncture shafts, where several lines come together; and control shafts, where the networks draining individual buildings or city blocks join the street network. Drop shafts are built where there is a substantial difference between the levels of the delivery pipes and drain pipes. Flushing shafts are used in flushing out the sediments that form in pipes carrying effluents with a slow rate of flow.

In cross section, manholes are either round or rectangular. They are built predominantly from prefabricated reinforced-concrete rings and panels. Sometimes they are brick.

IU. M. LASKOV