A NEW DESIGN METHOD FOR BURIED PIPELINES SUBJECTED TO DIFFERENTIAL GROUND SETTLEMENT

Abstract

A new rational design method for buried pipelines subjected to differential ground settlement was proposed on the basis of a data set from 3-D centrifuge model tests. The proposed method considers both marked earth pressure concentration on the upper-halves of pipelines and change in the length of the area with the earth pressure concentration, predicting well non-linear change, observed in the centrifuge model tests, in the pipeline response (earth pressure and deflection) due to increase in differential ground settlement. Its validity, as well as its superiority against a current design standard, was confirmed through comparison with the results of the centrifuge model tests.