A CASE STUDY OF SEISMIC ASSESSMENT OF BURIED PIPELINES

Water pipeline structures may cross fault zones, slopes, karstic regions, and many other geotechnical hazardous areas.Thus, seismic assessment of buried pipelines and determining their strength demand are the key roles in seismic risk analysis. Damages and disruptions of the buried pipeline systems in the earthquake could threaten seriously social life and property, and prolong economic recovery during post-earthquake construction and rehabilitation. This paper aimed to study seismic behavior of the water pipeline in Zahedan province under wave propagation as a case study. For this purpose, 3D finite element analysis by ABAQUS Software was performed to assess the pipeline behavior under seismic loading. Static Pushover analysis was conducted to verify the model. The effects of pipe diameter, pipe thickness, and surcharge pressure on the induced stress on the pipeline was determined by parametric analysis. Results showed that, increasing pipe thickness, as well as burial depth, reduces induced stresses. The effects of pipe diameter on induced stresses were also investigated.

Keywords:

Pipeline , Seismic assessment , Lifeline , FEM , Pushover