Mechanical integrity of buried energy pipelines

管道在运输民用和工业用石油和天然气产品方面发挥着重要作用。建立安全、可靠和经济的管道运输系统对包括运营商、行业、监管机构和社会在内的所有利益相关者都至关重要。出于公共安全和防止第三方破坏的原因，陆上管道通常被埋起来。这些管道运输系统穿越数百公里，跨越各种环境、地形和岩土条件。在该系统的部分路段，管道可能会受到地面运动的大变形。土的相对位移对埋地管道系统施加岩土荷载。这可能会导致管道变形，影响管道的运行和适用性。地质灾害还可能引发影响机械完整性的更显著的管道响应。管道故障的后果可能对社会、环境和运行产生重大影响。经济损失可达数百万美元。该研究计划的预期贡献将是数值模拟工具的进步，提供对岩土荷载和管道系统荷载影响的改进估计。技术方法将包括工程桌面研究、分析工具、缩小比例的离心机建模技术和数值建模程序。将开发一个框架，将研究成果整合到工程实践中，以分析、设计和评估受长期地质灾害影响的埋地管道运输系统。通过更好地了解管道完整性，减少不确定性将提高管道安全性和生命周期经济性。研究成果还可以帮助管道公司制定监测计划、缓解策略和运营响应计划。

Pipelines play a major role in transporting oil and gas products for civilian and industrial use. Establishing safe, reliable and economic pipeline transportation systems is essential for all stakeholders including operators, industry, regulatory agencies and society. Onshore pipelines are generally buried for reasons of public safety and protection from third-party damage. These pipeline transportation systems traverse hundreds of kilometers across varied environmental, topographical, and geotechnical conditions. Along segments of this system, the pipeline may be subject to large deformation ground movement. The relative soil displacement imposes geotechnical loads on the buried pipeline system. This may initiate pipeline deformations affecting pipeline operations and serviceability. The geohazards may also initiate a more significant pipeline response affecting mechanical integrity. Consequences of pipeline failure may have a significant impact on society, environment, and operations. The economic impact can be millions of dollars.The anticipated contributions from this research program will be the advancement of numerical simulation tools that provide improved estimates on geotechnical loads and load effects on pipeline systems. The technical approach will incorporate engineering desktop studies, analytical tools, reduced-scale centrifuge modelling techniques and numerical modelling procedures. A framework will be developed to integrate the research outcomes within engineering practice for the analysis, design and assessment of buried pipeline transportation systems subject to long-term geohazards. The reduced uncertainty will improve pipeline safety and life-cycle economics through a better understanding of pipeline integrity. The research outcomes may also assist pipeline companies in the development of monitoring programs, mitigation strategies, and operational response plans.