Title: Finite element analysis of buried continuous pipeline subjected to fault motion

Authors: Vasudeo Chaudhari; Venkata Dilip Kumar P; Ramancharla Pradeep Kumar

Addresses: Civil Engineering Department, Gandhinagar Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382721, India ' Earthquake Engineering Research Centre, International Institute of Information Technology, Gachibowli, Hyderabad 500 032, Andhra Pradesh, India ' Earthquake Engineering Research Centre, International Institute of Information Technology, Gachibowli, Hyderabad 500 032, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract: Pipeline generally extends over long distances traversing through wide variety of different soils, geological conditions and regions with different seismicity. Most analytical models developed in the past for pipeline fault crossing are of limited usage as models developed were useful only for strike slip fault. Incorporating the large geometric changes in analytical study is a tricky task; however pipeline subjected to the fault motion itself is a phenomenon of large geometric changes, especially when pipeline subjected to compression in addition to material deformation, it also undergoes local buckling with bending. With computational advancement in numerical modelling, pipes under compression can also be studied. In this paper, a 3D FE-based numerical model is suggested to carry out pipeline performance of buried pipeline subjected to fault motion including material non-linearity and large geometric deformations. A 3D FE programme is developed using MATLAB. Displacement controlled arc-length technique is implemented to solve the non-linear behaviour.

Keywords: buried continuous pipelines; fault motion; nonlinear deformation; large deformations; FEM; FEA; finite element analysis; displacement controlled arc length; compression; material deformation; buckling; bending; numerical modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2013.056981

International Journal of Structural Engineering, 2013 Vol.4 No.4, pp.314 - 331

Published online: 28 Jun 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article