Prediction model for maximum shear displacement of pipe joints with preexisting defects based on finite element–multiple nonlinear regression method

Abstract

AbstractUnder the coupling effect of the defects inside and around pipes, the shear displacement of the joints of old concrete pipes fallen into disrepair usually shows an accelerated deterioration trend, and its excessive value can lead to structural damage or fluid leakage. Therefore, developing a prediction model for the maximum shear displacement of concrete drainage pipe joints with preexisting defects is of crucial significance. To this end, this work selects internal corrosion and erosion voids as the typical defects inside and around old pipes, establishes 300 sets of three‐dimensional fine finite element (FE) models of the concrete drainage pipes with corrosion and void, and verifies the reliability of the developed FE model by the full‐scale tests. Based on the verified FE data, a prediction model is successfully proposed for the assessment of the maximum shear displacement of the concrete drainage pipe joints with corrosion and void defects. Moreover, parameter sensitivity analysis is carried out to reveal their relative contribution to the maximum shear displacement of pipe joints. The results show that the model proposed herein has the ability to accurately predict the maximum shear displacement of the pipe joints. The maximum and minimum relative error between the value predicted by the proposed model and the one computed by the FE model is also 12.4% and 4.8% respectively. Moreover, the traffic load with a contribution of 28.7% has the greatest impact on the maximum shear displacement of pipe joints.