Response of buried pipes to missile impact

Abstract

This paper presents the methodology and results of the analyses carried out to determine an effective layout and the dynamic response of safety related cooling water pipes, buried in backfill, for the Alto Lazio Nuclear Power Plant in Italy, subjected to missile impact loading at the backfill surface. The pipes are composed of a steel plate encased in two layers of high-quality reinforced concrete. The methodology comprises three steps. The first step is the definition of the ‘free-field’ dynamic response of the backfill soil, not considering the presence of the pipes, through a dynamic finite element direct integration analysis utilizing an axisymmetric model. The second step is the pipe—soil interaction analysis, which is conducted by utilizing the soil displacement and stress time-histories obtained in the previous steps. Soil stress time-histories, combined with the geostatic and other operational stresses (such as those due to temperature and pressure), are used to obtain the actions in the pipe walls due to ring type deformation. For the third step, the analysis of the beam type response, a lumped parameter model is developed which accounts for the soil stiffness, the pipe characteristics and the position of the pipe with respect to the impact area. In addition, the effect of the presence of large concrete structures, such as tunnels, between the ground surface and the pipe is evaluated. The results of the structural analyses lead to defining the required steel thickness and also allow the choice of appropriate embedment depth and layout of redundant lines. The final results of the analysis is not only the strength verification of the pipe section, but also the definition of an effective layout of the lines in terms of position, depth, steel thickness and joint design.