A New Strategy for Mitigating Pipeline Uplift in Liquefied Soils
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 14, Issue 4
Abstract
Seismic-induced liquefaction is one of the main hazards for pipelines buried in saturated granular materials. When soil is partially or completely fluidized, a lifeline, although installed in superficial trenches in which the coarse backfill soil usually is compacted, may experience a sudden uplift and damages. To reduce pipeline uplift and thus limit the associated risks, the authors propose a sustainable and original mitigation strategy, suitable for both existing and new lifelines, based on both the use of a geomembrane and the compaction of the soil surrounding the pipeline. According to the design method proposed, the intervention geometry is selected on the basis of the pipeline maximum admissible displacement, whereas the minimum required relative density can be designed, based on the site-specific seismic demand, to avoid cyclically induced local accumulation in excess pore-water pressure. To prove the effectiveness of this strategy, a series of small-scale laboratory tests was performed on a pipe buried in a fluidized sand layer. A simplified displacement-based design approach, which was validated against the experimental data, is proposed.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by Saipem S.p.A. within the framework of an experimental and numerical program aimed at defining innovative design solutions for the mitigation of liquefaction-induced pipeline uplift. The authors thank Eng. F. Callea and Eng. M. Secondi for performing a part of the experimental campaign, and Dr. S. Alberti for his help in the conceptualization of the experimental apparatus.
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Nov 22, 2022
Accepted: Jul 10, 2023
Published online: Sep 13, 2023
Published in print: Nov 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Feb 13, 2024
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