Mechanical Behavior of Buried Steel Pipelines Crossing Strike-Slip Seismic Faults

Author(s):  
Polynikis Vazouras ◽  
Spyros A. Karamanos ◽  
Panos Dakoulas

The present paper investigates the mechanical behaviour of buried steel pipelines, crossing active strike-slip tectonic faults. The fault plane is vertical and perpendicular to the pipeline axis. The interacting soil-pipeline system is modelled rigorously through finite elements, which account for large strains and displacements, nonlinear material behaviour and special conditions of contact and friction on the soil-pipe interface. Steel pipelines of various diameter-to-thickness ratios, and typical steel material for pipeline applications (API 5L grades X65 and X80) are considered. The paper investigates the effects of various soil and pipeline parameters on the mechanical response of the pipeline, with particular emphasis on pipe wall failure due to “local buckling” or “kinking” and pipe wall rupture. The effects of shear soil strength and stiffness, are also investigated. Furthermore, the influence of the presence of pipeline internal pressure on the mechanical response of the steel pipeline is examined. Numerical results aim at determining the fault displacement at which the pipeline failure occurs, and they are presented in a graphical form that shows the critical fault displacement, the corresponding critical strain versus the pipe diameter-to-thickness ratio. It is expected that the results of the present study can be used for efficient pipeline design in cases where active faults are expected to impose significant ground-induced deformation to the pipeline.

Author(s):  
Keita Oda ◽  
Takahiro Ishihara ◽  
Masakatsu Miyajima

This study proposes a method for designing a water pipeline system against fault displacement by incorporating earthquake resistant ductile iron pipes (ERDIPs). An ERDIP pipeline is capable of absorb the large ground displacements that occur during severe earthquakes by movement of its joint (expansion, contraction and deflection) and the use of the joint locking system. Existing ERDIP pipelines have been exposed to several severe earthquakes such as the 1995 Kobe Earthquake and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and there has been no documentation of their failure in the last 40 years. In the case of a pipeline that crosses a fault, there is the possibility of the occurrence of a local relative displacement between the pipeline and the ground. It is known that an ERDIP pipeline withstands a fault of axial compression direction by past our study. Hence, this present study was targeted at developing a method for designing an ERDIP pipeline that is capable of withstanding a strike-slip fault of axial tensile direction for a pipeline. This was done by FEM analysis wherein the ERDIPs and spring elements were used to model the soil and ERDIP joints. An ERDIP pipeline can accommodate a fault displacement of about 2 m by joint expansion/contraction and deflection, while maintaining the stress in the pipeline within the elastic limit. However, additional countermeasure is required when the fault displacement exceeds 2 m because such could stress the pipeline beyond the elastic limit. The use of large displacement absorption unit is an effective countermeasure for displacements exceeding 2 m. The expansion/contraction capacity of a unit is 10 times that of an ERDIP joint and it is able to absorb a locally-concentrated axial displacement of the pipeline. It was confirmed in the present study that an ERDIP pipeline with large displacement absorption unit, referred to as a large displacement absorption system, could accommodate fault displacement in excess of 2 m within the elastic stress range of the pipeline.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoben Liu ◽  
Hong Zhang ◽  
Onyekachi Ndubuaku ◽  
Mengying Xia ◽  
J. J. Roger Cheng ◽  
...  

The structural integrity of underground pipelines are subject to a major threat from permanent ground displacements when they cross active tectonic (e.g., strike-slip) faults, because of large strains potentially induced in pipes, leading to pipe buckling and possible rupture. In this paper, the buckling behavior of X80 pipe is studied numerically with an emphasis on the effects of steel stress–strain characteristics. A rigorous mechanics-based nonlinear finite element (FE) model of a buried X80 pipe crossing a strike-slip fault is developed using shell elements and nonlinear springs for the pipe and soil resistance, respectively. The pipe steel material in the FE model is characterized by a novel and versatile stress–strain relationship, which was established to successfully capture both the round-house (RH) type and the yield-plateau (YP) type stress–strain behaviors. This allows investigating the significant effects of the stress–strain characteristics, as observed in this paper, on the buckling behavior of pressurized and nonpressurized pipes.


Author(s):  
Xiaoben Liu ◽  
Hong Zhang ◽  
Mengying Xia ◽  
Meng Li

Active fault is the most dangerous natural hazards of buried steel pipelines, as large stress and strain induced by ground movement can lead to pipe failure, which may cause severe accidents. Based on nonlinear finite element method, local buckling behavior of buried high strength X80 steel pipelines under compression strike-slip fault was studied systematically. Accuracy of the numerical model was validated by previous full scale experimental results. A baseline analysis was performed to elucidate the local buckling phenomenon of pipe. Parametric analysis was also performed to investigate the effects of influence factors of pipe’s buckling behavior. Results shows that, when local buckling occurs, axial section force decreases abruptly. When pipe-fault intersection angle equals 135°, the maximum axial section force peaks and the critical fault displacement is the smallest. With the increase of pipe wall thickness, the maximum axial section force and the critical fault displacement increases. With the increase of pipe internal pressure, the maximum axial section force and the critical fault displacement decreases. When p = 0MPa, inward-diamond buckling occurs in the pipe. While p≥4MPa, elephant-foot buckling occurs in the pipe.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1223
Author(s):  
Elisa Ficarella ◽  
Mohammad Minooei ◽  
Lorenzo Santoro ◽  
Elisabetta Toma ◽  
Bartolomeo Trentadue ◽  
...  

This article presents a very detailed study on the mechanical characterization of a highly nonlinear material, the immature equine zona pellucida (ZP) membrane. The ZP is modeled as a visco-hyperelastic soft matter. The Arruda–Boyce constitutive equation and the two-term Prony series are identified as the most suitable models for describing the hyperelastic and viscous components, respectively, of the ZP’s mechanical response. Material properties are identified via inverse analysis based on nonlinear optimization which fits nanoindentation curves recorded at different rates. The suitability of the proposed approach is fully demonstrated by the very good agreement between AFM data and numerically reconstructed force–indentation curves. A critical comparison of mechanical behavior of two immature ZP membranes (i.e., equine and porcine ZPs) is also carried out considering the information on the structure of these materials available from electron microscopy investigations documented in the literature.


Author(s):  
Xiaohui He ◽  
Hao Liang ◽  
Peizhen Zhang ◽  
Yue Wang

Abstract The South China block has been one of the most seismically quiescent regions in China, and the geometries and activities of the Quaternary faults have remained less studied due to the limited outcrops. Thus, source parameters of small-to-moderate earthquakes are important to help reveal the location, geometry distribution, and mechanical properties of the subsurface faults and thus improve the seismic risk assessment. On 12 October 2019, two earthquakes (the Ms 4.2 foreshock and the Ms 5.2 mainshock) occurred within 2 s and are located in southern South China block, near the junction region of the large-scale northeast-trending fault zones and the less continuous northwest-trending fault zones. We determined the point-source parameters of the two events via P-wave polarity analysis and regional waveform modeling, and the resolved focal mechanisms are significantly different with the minimum 3D rotation angle of 52°. We then resolved the rupture directivity of the two events by analyzing the azimuth variation of the source time duration and found the Ms 4.2 foreshock ruptured toward north-northwest for ∼1.0 km, and the Ms 5.2 mainshock ruptured toward east-southeast (ESE) for ∼1.5 km, implying conjugate strike-slip faulting. The conjugate causative faults have not been mapped on the regional geological map, and we infer that the two faults may be associated with the northwest-trending Bama-Bobai fault zone (the Shiwo section). These active faults are optimally oriented in the present-day stress field (northwest-southeast) and thus may now be potentially accumulating elastic strain to be released in a future large earthquake.


Author(s):  
Endra Gunawan

Abstract To estimate the hazard posed by active faults, estimates of the maximum magnitude earthquake that could occur on the fault are needed. I compare previously published scaling relationships between earthquake magnitude and rupture length with data from recent earthquakes in Indonesia. I compile a total amount of 13 literatures on investigating coseismic deformation in Indonesia, which then divided into strike-slip and dip-slip earthquake cases. I demonstrate that a different scaling relationship generates different misfit compared to data. For a practical practice of making seismic hazard model in Indonesia, this research shows the suggested reference for a scaling relationship of strike-slip and dip-slip faulting regime. On a practical approach in constructing a logic tree for seismic hazard model, using different weighting between each published earthquake scaling relationship is recommended.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Delissen ◽  
G. Radaelli ◽  
L. A. Shaw ◽  
J. B. Hopkins ◽  
J. L. Herder

A great deal of engineering effort is focused on changing mechanical material properties by creating microstructural architectures instead of modifying chemical composition. This results in meta-materials, which can exhibit properties not found in natural materials and can be tuned to the needs of the user. To change Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus, many current designs exploit mechanisms and hinges to obtain the desired behavior. However, this can lead to nonlinear material properties and anisotropy, especially for large strains. In this work, we propose a new material design that makes use of curved leaf springs in a planar lattice. First, analytical ideal springs are employed to establish sufficient conditions for linear elasticity, isotropy, and a zero Poisson's ratio. Additionally, Young's modulus is directly related to the spring stiffness. Second, a design method from the literature is employed to obtain a spring, closely matching the desired properties. Next, numerical simulations of larger lattices show that the expectations hold, and a feasible material design is presented with an in-plane Young's modulus error of only 2% and Poisson's ratio of 2.78×10−3. These properties are isotropic and linear up to compressive and tensile strains of 0.12. The manufacturability and validity of the numerical model is shown by a prototype.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Hoon Kang

<p>The Yangsan Fault Zone (YFZ) of NNE trend and Ulsan Fault Zone (UFZ) of NNW trend are developed in the Gyeongsang Basin, the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, and many active faults and Quaternary faults (ATV and QTY Fs) have been found in these fault zones. The tectonic movement of the YFZ can be explained at least by two different strike-slip movements, named as D1 sinistral strike-slip and D2 dextral strike-slip, and then two different dip-slip movements, named as D3 conjugate reverse-slip and D4 Quaternary reverse-slip. The surfaces of D3 fault in basement rocks are extended those of D4 fault in the covering Quaternary deposits, like the other Quaternary faults within the YFZ. The D3 and D4 faults were formed under the same compression of (N)NW-(S)SE direction. After that, the active faults occurred in the Korean Peninsula under the compression of E-W direction. The ATV and QTY Fs thrust the Bulguksa igneous rocks of Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary upon the Quaternary deposits or are developed within the Quaternary deposits in the UFZ, showing the reverse-slip sense of top-to-the west movement. This presentation is suggested the formation model of neotectonic fault zone in the UFZ on the basis of the various trends [(W)NW, N-S, (E)NE trends] of fault surfaces of the ATV and QTY Fs found in the UFZ, and the zigzag-form connecting line of their outcrop sites, and the deformation history (the N-S trending 1st reverse-slip faulting by the 1st E-W compression and associated the E-W trending strike-slip tear faulting, the N-S trending 2nd reverse-slip faulting by the 2nd E-W compression) of neotectonic fault zone in the Singye-ri valley around the UFZ, and the compressive arc-shaped lineaments which convex to the west reported in the YFZ.</p><p>Acknowledgements: This research was financially supported by a grant (2017-MPSS31-006) from the Research and Development of Active fault of Korean Peninsula funded by the Korean Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and by Ministry of public Administration and Security as Disaster Prevention Safety Human resource development Project.</p>


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