Investigation of gas distribution pipes subjected to ground movements

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Pipelines are lifelines of modern society, which are used to supply water and energy for our living. However, pipeline incidents, such as leaks and failure, can have significant economic and environmental consequences. Leaking from energy pipelines can contaminate the environment and cause a fire hazard. The ground movement has been identified as one of the causes of pipeline incidents. Pipes buried in the moving ground experience loads that induce excessive stresses and strains on the wall, causing leaks and/or failures. However, no acceptable design method is currently available for the assessment of pipe wall stresses and strains due to the ground movement loads, particularly for small diameter pipes used in gas transmission and distribution systems. The objectives of the current study are to develop methods for stress/strain assessment of gas distribution pipes subjected to the ground movement loads and a pipeline integrity assessment framework to identify high-risk areas. Full-scale laboratory testing and finite element (FE) modelling of soil-pipe interaction will be performed to develop simplified tools for the assessment of the pipes in the gas distribution network. A simplified design tool is required for practicing engineer for the assessment of the operational conditions of pipes in service, where detailed FE modelling is considered costly and inconvenient. Tests will be conducted to experimentally examine the behavior of the pipes using a novel laboratory test method to simulate ground movement scenarios expected in the field. FE modelling techniques will be developed using Abaqus FE software to simulate the observed responses from the tests. It is proposed to apply supervised machine learning regression methods using the data from the laboratory tests and FE modelling to develop the simplified method of pipe strain assessment. The findings from this research will advance the knowledge on pipelines experiencing ground movements and would be useful for mitigating the risks of pipeline failures. Thus, the research findings will contribute to providing natural gas supply to the Canadians effectively and safely and thus, to the protection of the Canadian environment from gas leakage.