Abstract
The Tohoku earthquake in 2011 caused several damages to the pipeline network in the Tokyo Bay area. Predominantly, the main damages were noticed in the artificial islands, where liquefaction destroyed and deformed numerous embedded pipelines. During a seismic event, lifeline systems are subjected to buoyancy forces in the liquefied soil, causing permanent deformations to pipelines and interrupting their serviceability. The current mitigation methods (backfill improvement) are not suitable for regions prone to future earthquakes because pipe excavation and improvement is time-consuming and costly. Therefore, the aim of this study is to present a new effective mitigation method: the so-called horn-type structure. This innovative mitigation method was analysed with different analytical, experimental and numerical methods.
Highlights
Japan is well known for being one of the most active seismic countries in the world
The archipelago is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and precisely between the Eurasian Plate, the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Plate
The Japanese government is investing enormous effort for the seismic safety of structures and the development of new mitigation methods, the authorities were caught off guard on 11 March 2011, when the Tohoku earthquake struck the island of Honshu
Summary
Japan is well known for being one of the most active seismic countries in the world. The archipelago is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and precisely between the Eurasian Plate, the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Plate. These are the most meaningful and active plate boundaries on the planet. The earthquake moment magnitude Mw was 9·0, and the epicentre was 70 km east of the Oshika Peninsula at an underwater depth of 30 km (Mimura et al, 2011). This earthquake, called the Great East Japan earthquake, was the most powerful earthquake in the history of the nation
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