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，管道在向当地和国际市场输送石油和天然气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，延伸到地形和岩土条件高度可变的大距离。确保管道的安全和保障符合每个人的最大利益--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。加拿大超过150万平方公里的土地覆盖着马斯克土壤，这种土壤硬度软，强度弱；许多能源管道，包括这项提案的关键私营部门合作伙伴之一运营的管道，都位于马斯克土壤中。随着人们越来越多地关注管道的完整性，并以“实现零事故”为共同目标，确保埋藏在马斯克土壤中的管道系统的结构完整性和安全，往往由于操作负荷和环境危害而面临挑战。因此，迫切需要促进我们对麝香(有机)土壤的行为以及埋在这种土壤中的管道的相关响应的理解。考虑到这一点，将开展一项研究计划：(I)开发合理/最佳的方法来表征Muskeg土壤的高度可变的力学响应；(Ii)开发一个模型来模拟Muskeg土壤中埋设的管道的土壤-管道相互作用；(Iii)验证/校准所开发的土壤-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业知识。研究结果将对提高管道完整性和安全性的行业具有直接的高价值适用性。对这一具有科学意义的挑战的调查将导致制定潜在的工程设计指南，进而为整个管道部门做出贡献。**

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.**