Incorporating seismic risk assessment into the determination of the optimal route for gas pipelines

Abstract

ABSTRACT Earthquake-induced damage to gas pipelines can have severe economic, social, and environmental consequences. To mitigate these risks, one effective way is to carefully design the route of gas pipelines, considering the seismic hazard of the region. This paper proposes a methodology that incorporates seismic risk assessment into the process of designing gas pipeline routes. Conventional gas pipeline design methods consider only minimum distances from faults and fail to account for seismic potential. The methodology is applied to three gas pipeline routing problems in the high seismic region of southern Iran. Seismic risk is evaluated using the HAZUS method, and routing is performed through a GIS-based approach. Results are compared with conventional approaches in terms of length, seismic risks, and damage costs, showing the proposed method’s effectiveness in reducing immediate consequences like leaks and breaks in gas transportation. The proposed method reduces seismic damage by 3 to 68% for routing problems.