Dynamic behaviors of buried reinforced concrete pipelines with gasketed bell-and-spigot joints subjected to tunnel blasting vibration

Abstract

Reinforced concrete pipelines with gasketed bell-and-spigot joints are widely spread in urban areas. The jointed concrete pipe is vulnerable subjected to blasting vibration induced by adjacent tunnel blasting excavation, which may lead to serious consequences to residents and tunnel construction. However, research on the dynamic response of jointed pipe under impact loads is vague. For analyzing the impact of blasting vibration on adjacent buried reinforced concrete pipelines with gasketed bell-and-spigot joints, full-scale blasting experiments with the pipeline buried in the silty clay layer which is a typical condition in the Wuhan area are conducted. Specifically, vibration velocity and dynamic strain variation characteristics of the pipe segments and joints subject to blasting vibration are obtained. In addition, LS-DYNA with an elaborate pipe joint model and field measuring data verification is adopted to better show the detailed response of pipe segments and joints. Comparative analysis is conducted between the continuous pipe and jointed pipe to clarify the influence of pipe joint on the whole pipeline. In the end, the countermeasures of jointed pipeline protection against blasting vibration induced by blasting excavation are presented.