Numerical Analysis of Floatation Response of Buried Pipeline in Liquefied Soil

Abstract

In this paper, the formulae are deduced for the floatation response of pipeline buried in liquefied soil. The beam model based on the theory of beam on elastic foundation is used for the pipeline buried in non-liquefied and liquefied soil. The soil property is nonlinear, the floating force induced by the soil liquefaction is related to the position of pipeline, is nonlinear also. For the convenience and simplification of analysis, the nonlinear increment element method was used and lots of numerical analysis was conducted, including: the floatation response of pipeline buried in homogeneous soil, the floatation response of pipeline buried in non-homogeneous soil, and the floatation response of pipeline buried in discontinuous liquefied area. The influential factors on the floatation response of buried pipeline buried in liquefied soil including spring stiff of liquefied soil, the initial deformation, the length of liquefied area, the axial force acting on the pipeline, the material of pipeline, and the diameter of pipeline. The calculation results of discontinuous liquefied area draw a significant conclusion that for a long liquefied area, to make the soil non-liquefied in the middle of liquefied area may decrease the length of liquefied area and reduce the flotation displacement of pipeline greatly.