Abstract
Buried pipelines are the main means of long distance transportation of natural gas. These pipelines are in high risk crossing liquefaction areas due to large deformations and stresses that may exist in pipe induced by the buoyancy load. In this study, a systematic analytical and numerical analysis were performed to investigate the mechanical behavior of a buried gas pipeline subjected to buoyancy in liquefaction areas. Soil constraints on pipe were considered accurately in the proposed models through soil spring assumptions. Effects of axial forces on pipe’s bending deformation were also considered via the governing equations for beam under bending and tension. Deformation compatibility condition was utilized to derive the axial forces in pipe. The accuracy of the proposed analytical model was validated by comparing its results with those derived by an established rigorous finite element model. In addition, parametric analysis was finally performed using the analytical model to study the influences of pipe diameter, pipe wall thickness, soil spring stiffness and width of liquefaction zone on pipe’s mechanical responses. This study can be referenced in the strength analysis and performance based safety evaluation of buried gas pipelines crossing liquefaction areas.
Highlights
As a clean hydrocarbon energy, natural gas’s proportion in the energy consumption in China is growing rapidly in recent years
This a detailed investigation is conducted to determine whether elastic soil springs can effectively in simulate simulate the mechanical behaviors of pipes subjected to buoyancy induced by liquefied soil
Parametric byspring the proposed analytical method. This is because for theseof two cases the soils are almost elastic.i.e., For the diameter, case with pipe liquefaction zone investigate influences common engineering parameters, pipe wall thickness, length equals m, the results derived by model with elastic soil springs predicts smaller results
Summary
As a clean hydrocarbon energy, natural gas’s proportion in the energy consumption in China is growing rapidly in recent years. Due to pipelines play a main role in the transportation of natural gas resources, a large number of pipelines are needed to ensure the continuous supply of natural gas in China [1,2]. These pipelines can be thousands of kilometers long, inevitably crossing some strong seismic areas where liquefaction zones may exist [3]. Wang et al [4] performed numerical and analytical analysis of floating pipe under distributed line loads induced by floods In his analytical model pipelines were assumed as cables with no bending stiffness. Xia et al [6] proposed a semi-analytical model for buried steel pipelines crossing subsidence areas considering the elastoplasticity of the pipe material and the nonlinear pipe-soil
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