Seismic response analysis of buried pipelines with the high drop

Abstract

To study the seismic response of buried pipelines with the high drop, a small-size test based on shaking table was conducted to analyze the effects of pipeline wall thickness, pipeline diameter and inclination angle on the seismic response of buried pipelines with high drop. Meanwhile, a finite element model was proposed for numerical simulation. The research results show that the peak axial strain of the pipeline increases with the decrease of the thickness and the diameter of the pipeline in the action of seismic waves and the increase of the inclination of the pipeline. Based on the results of experiments and finite element simulations, a regression equation of the peak axial strain of buried pipelines with the high drop was developed with the consideration of the effects of the ratio of wall diameter to wall thickness and height. Meanwhile, some valuable conclusions were obtained for the instruction of the seismic design of pipelines in engineering.