SEISMIC-INDUCED DAMAGE EVALUATION THROUGH NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF GAS PIPELINES WITH DIFFERENT PIPE MATERIALS

Abstract

 Most of the damage to gas pipelines caused by the Kobe Earthquake was due to ruptured joints in screw-jointed steel pipes. On the other hand, no damage was observed in polyethylene (PE) pipes, which are earthquake-resistant pipes. For this reason, the percentage of PE pipes installed has increased since the Kobe Earthquake. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the installation status of earthquake-resistant pipes when analyzing earthquake damage to gas pipelines. In this study, a numerical model of a one-dimensional piping system with various PE pipe installation ratios (PE pipe ratio) was developed to evaluate the relationship between PE pipe ratio and joint rupture rate. A numerical model was also constructed to reproduce the conditions of a pipeline in an area where an actual earthquake had occurred in the past. Ground displacement was calculated from the SI values and given to the model to verify the validity of the numerical simulation.