Mechanical integrity of buried energy pipelines

管道在民用和工业用石油和天然气产品的运输中发挥着重要作用。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攸关方至关重要。出于公共安全和防止第三方损害的原因，陆上管道通常被埋在地下。这些管道运输系统跨越数百公里，跨越不同的环境、地形和岩土条件。沿该系统的管段，管道可能会发生大变形的地面移动。土体的相对位移对埋地管道系统施加岩土荷载。这可能会引发影响管道运行和适用性的管道变形。地质灾害还可能引发更大的管道响应，影响机械完整性。管道故障的后果可能会对社会、环境和运营产生重大影响。这项研究计划的预期贡献将是数值模拟工具的进步，这些工具可以改进对岩土荷载和对管道系统的荷载影响的估计。技术方法将包括工程桌面研究、分析工具、缩小规模的离心机建模技术和数值建模程序。将制定一个框架，将研究成果与工程实践相结合，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。减少的不确定性将通过更好地了解管道完整性来改善管道安全和生命周期经济。研究成果还可以帮助管道公司制定监测计划、缓解战略和运营响应计划。

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.