Guidelines for the Seismic Design and Assessment of Natural Gas and Liquid Hydrocarbon Pipelines

Abstract

Guidelines for the seismic design of oil and gas pipelines have not been updated in a single reference document since 1984, when the American Society of Civil Engineers released their publication, Guidelines for the Seismic Design of Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems. Since 1984, substantial progress has been made in identifying and quantifying seismic hazards, understanding pipeline response under large, displacement-controlled strain conditions, and analytical methods for assessing pipeline response to permanent ground displacement. In 1998, the Pipeline Research Council International, Inc. (PRCI) initiated a project to update seismic design guidelines for pipelines with the goal of incorporating advances in current engineering practice since the early 1980s and to create a document that can be regularly updated to take advantage of new research findings. The PRCI project to develop the guidelines was undertaken by two investigators heavily involved in the 1984 American Society of Civil Engineers guidelines. Two teams of independent expert reviewers were used during the project to assure the recommended practices were technically consistent with the current state of knowledge of seismic hazard assessment, pipeline behavior, and analysis methods.