Abstract
Malfunctions and failures of buried pipes (such as oil and gas transmission networks) are caused primarily by heterogeneous geotechnical conditions and spatial variability of soil properties. They are the main source of uncertainty in the choice of the design properties. These heterogeneity and variability can be well detected using the geotechnical and geophysical investigations on a construction site (such as pressuremeter and soil resistivity tests). In this study, a geostatistical analysis of soil modulus (Es) coupled with geotechnical and geophysical data of a real construction site in France (city of Pessac) is conducted to improve the mechanical characteristics of soil on the construction site. The collocated ordinary cokriging between twelve values of Es and 272 values of soil resistivity was used to model the spatial variability of Young’s soil modulus. From this, two different modelings, using the Winkler model with pipe–soil interaction, were applied in order to analyze the longitudinal behavior of buried steel pipes; an analytical modeling to deal with uncertainty of Es and a numerical modeling to deal with spatial variability of Es. A comparison between numerical and analytical outcomes highlights the major influence of spatial variability on the uncertainties of the bending moment and differential settlement of buried steel pipes. Finally, results show the significant influence of the soil spatial variability on the longitudinal behavior of buried pipes. Thus, special consideration is necessary to adapt the buried pipe design to a construction site where soil properties vary spatially in order to reduce their possible dysfunction and failure.
Published Version
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