Abstract
A design method for buried flexible pipes based on anew concept of soil-structure interaction phenomenon is proposed to improve the current inadequate design procedures. Vertical deflections of buried pipes and maximum bending moments produced in the walls of the pipes were calculated by elastic finite element analysis. They are summarized as design charts for deflections and maximum bending moments in pipes in terms of the flexibility index of buried pipes (k), which is defined as the relative stiffness between the pipe and the surrounding soil. The new design method predicts actual pipe behavior reasonably well and therefore will be useful to prevent frequent damages to the buried pipes that occur throughout the world.
