A novel empirical model for peak strain prediction of pipelines under circular landslides

Abstract

In-service pipelines in slope sections may experience a sudden increase in strain due to circular landslides. Obtaining the peak strain of pipelines (PSP) in engineering is often necessary to quickly evaluate the pipeline's safety status. Due to the lack of consideration of the influence of sliding surface shape, pipe laying location and diameter, the existing empirical model for peak strain prediction (EMPSP) does not perform satisfactorily, and the calculated error of PSP is far more than the acceptable range. A novel EMPSP for pipelines is proposed in this paper. First, a 3D nonuniform circular sliding finite element model (FEM) is established by the strength reduction method combined with the displacement function. Second, a detailed analysis is conducted on the impact of nondimensional parameters on the PSP. Finally, detailed discussions are presented to develop the coupling form between multiple parameters in the EMPSP, and a flowchart for pipeline design and evaluation is established. By comparing engineering case data, the accuracy of the novel EMPSP model has been improved by 59% or even higher compared to previous models. In conclusion, the novel EMPSP has a wide range of applications and can efficiently guide the evaluation of pipeline design based on strain.