Geotechnical characterization of muskeg soils for engineering design of buried energy pipelines

能源行业是加拿大经济的关键驱动力，管道在将石油和天然气输送到当地和国际市场方面发挥着至关重要的作用。很大一部分石油和天然气管道埋在地下，延伸距离很长，地形和地质条件变化很大。确保管道安全可靠符合每个人的最佳利益-确保我们的健康和生活质量，保护社区和环境，促进经济增长和价值创造。加拿大150多万平方公里的土地覆盖着软而硬、强度弱的沼泽土;许多能源管道，包括本提案的一个主要私营部门伙伴经营的管道，都位于沼泽土中。随着对管道完整性的日益关注以及“零事故”的共同目标，确保沼泽土中埋地管道系统的结构完整性和安全性往往面临着由于操作载荷和环境危害而带来的挑战。因此，有一个强烈的需要，以提高我们的理解的行为muskeg（有机）土壤和相关的响应埋在这样的土壤中的管道。考虑到这一点，研究计划将进行：（一）制定合理的/最佳的方法来表征沼泽土壤的高度可变的机械响应;（二）开发一个模型来模拟埋在沼泽土壤中的管道的土壤-管道相互作用;（三）验证/校准开发的土壤-管道相互作用模型，以证明其适用于工程评估。在项目实施过程中，将培训高素质的人员，从而为加拿大的管道岩土工程部门增加专门知识。研究结果将直接高价值的应用，以提高管道的完整性和安全性的行业。对这一科学上有趣的挑战的调查将导致制定潜在的工程设计准则，从而为整个管道行业做出贡献。

The energy industry is a key driver of the Canadian economy, and pipelines play a vital role in transporting oil and gas to local and international markets. A very large proportion of the oil and gas pipelines is buried below ground and extends over large distances that have highly variable topography and geotechnical conditions. It is in everyone's best interest to ensure that pipelines are safe and secure - to ensure our health and quality of life, to protect the communities and environment, and to promote economic growth and value creation. Over 1.5 million square kilometres of the Canadian landscape is covered with muskeg soil which is soft in stiffness and weak in strength; many of the energy pipelines, including those operated by one of the key private-sector partners of this proposal, are located in muskeg soils. With the increased attention to pipeline integrity with a collective aim "towards zero incidents", assurance of the structural integrity and safety of buried pipeline systems in muskeg soils often face challenges due to operational loads and environmental hazards. As a result, there is a strong need to advance our understanding of the behaviour of muskeg (organic) soils and the associated response of pipelines buried in such soils. With this in mind, a research program will be undertaken to: (i) develop reasonable/optimal approaches to characterize the highly variable mechanical response of muskeg soils; (ii) develop a model to simulate the soil-pipe interaction for pipes buried in muskeg soils; (iii) verify/calibrate the developed soil-pipe interaction model to justify its suitability for engineering evaluations. Highly qualified personnel will be trained during the course of the project, thus adding expertise to the pipeline geotechnical engineering sector in Canada. The research findings will be of direct high-value applicability to the industry for the enhancement of pipeline integrity and safety. The investigation on this scientifically interesting challenge would lead to developing potential engineering design guidelines, in turn contributing to the pipeline sector at large.