Experimental Study on Mechanical Response of Oil and Gas Pipelines under Ground Subsidence

Abstract

At present, accidents of buried pipelines caused by localized ground subsidence are reported frequently. Understanding the mechanical response of pipe soil during subsidence is of great significance to the safe operation of buried pipelines. This paper studies the stress state of buried oil and gas pipelines and their surrounding soil through a series of large-scale model tests in the process of localized ground subsidence. The experiment results show that during the process of subsidence, the axial and hoop strain of the pipeline increases with the expansion of the subsidence area and the subsidence amount. The subsidence amount has a relatively greater influence, and the distribution characteristics of the pipeline strain present obvious regional characteristics. The earth pressure around the pipe shows different changes in the process of subsidence, among which the earth pressure on the upper part of the pipe is the main one. The research results can provide a certain reference for the design and calculation of oil and gas pipelines under foundation settlement.