The Effect of Heavy-Duty Vehicle Crossings on the State of Stress of Buried Pipelines

Ľubomír Gajdoš,Jan Kec,Martin Šperl,Petr Crha

doi:10.3390/met12010153

Ľubomír Gajdoš, Jan Kec + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/met12010153

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Abstract

The aim of this article is to quantify the loads exerted by heavy-duty vehicles when crossing over buried pipeline. This problem arises in connection to the question pertaining to the use of protective sleeves (casings) applied to gas pipelines in regions with increased demands on pipeline operation safety. An experiment was conducted on a test pipe section made from L360NE pipeline steel equipped with strain gauges along the pipe perimeter, measuring strains in the axial and circumferential directions. Strain measurements were taken after back-filling the pipe trench, then during vehicle crossings over the empty pipe, and again after pressurizing the test pipe with air. Strain-based hoop stresses at the surface of the empty test pipe were found to exceed 30 MPa after back-filling the trench and increased to more than 40 MPa during the vehicle crossings. Similarly, axial stresses reached extremes of around 17 MPa in compression and 12 MPa in tension. Applying internal air pressure to the test pipe resulted in a reduced net effect on both the hoop and axial stresses.

Highlights

IntroductionVehicle Crossings on the State ofA very important aspect of ensuring the safe operation of gas pipelines is diagnostics pertaining to defects in the pipe wall and the subsequent determination of failure pressure [1]
Vehicle Crossings on the State ofA very important aspect of ensuring the safe operation of gas pipelines is diagnostics pertaining to defects in the pipe wall and the subsequent determination of failure pressure [1]
Because protective sleeves can protect gas pipelines from the heavy loads caused by vehicles and trains, they have become a subject of attention for pipeline safety authorities [3] and have found their place in international standards, e.g., [4]

Summary

Introduction

Vehicle Crossings on the State ofA very important aspect of ensuring the safe operation of gas pipelines is diagnostics pertaining to defects in the pipe wall and the subsequent determination of failure pressure [1]. Protective sleeves are one of the safety elements that can reduce the risk of serious damage to gas pipelines [2]. Protecting the long-term integrity of gas pipelines through the use of protective sleeves at highway and railroad crossings minimizes the risk of pipeline ruptures and reduces the risk of damage to roadways and nearby structures [6]. Some researchers emphasize the negative effect they may have on the corrosion of a pipeline, e.g., [7,8,9] This can be important when cathodic corrosion protection is applied to a pipeline. In this case, protective sleeves may act as a shield preventing the flow of the cathodic protection current to the pipeline. There is a tendency in the Czech Republic to limit the use of protective sleeves as much as possible and to reserve them solely for unavoidable cases

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