Novel Remediation for Buried Pipelines under Ground Deformation: Cross-Sectional Testing and an Analytical Modeling Approach
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 13, Issue 3
Abstract
This paper proposes a novel mitigation approach to improve the safety and structural integrity of buried steel transmission pipelines subjected to ground deformation. This method involves altering the boundary condition of buried pipelines with adjacently installed special geomaterial blocks (SGBs) consisting of a set of expanded polystyrene geofoam and polypropylene squared plastic boxes. The proposed SGB allows accommodating ground deformation while significantly reducing the ground-induced forces in the pipe. The mitigation technique is first presented, followed by the experimental test program developed to evaluate the beneficial effects of SGB on the pipe response when subjected to lateral and oblique displacements. Furthermore, a simplified spring-based analytical modeling approach is proposed for predicting the force-displacement response of the pipe–SGB–soil assembly with emphasis on the interaction between the pipe and soil under the new boundary condition. The analytical model is validated using experimental test data. The results of the experimental tests confirm the efficiency of the proposed remediation and feature the relationship between the applied displacement and the force developed in the pipe. Furthermore, it is found that the proposed simplified analytical model can appropriately predict the expected reaction of the pipe equipped with the SGB.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
Financial support provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada is acknowledged. The authors greatly appreciate the financial support and donation of test specimens by ALFA Upgrades. The authors wish to thank Professor Mustafa Gul of the University of Alberta for providing laboratory space to conduct the experimental work and Dr. Onyekachi Ndubuaku for his input throughout the project. Finally, the authors wish to thank the reviewers for their cogent and constructive comments, which led to improve the quality of the paper.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 13 • Issue 3 • August 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 8, 2021
Accepted: Feb 2, 2022
Published online: Mar 25, 2022
Published in print: Aug 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Aug 25, 2022
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