Effects of layered medium with irregular interface on buried pipeline

Abstract

Midium pressure gas pipelines sustained severe buckling damage during the 2007 Niigata-ken Chuetsu earthquake.We investigated relationshipbetween damage to the gas pipeline and the ground with irregular interface at Kashiwazaki city in Niigata prefecture. Axial strain of the ground have a great influence on pipelines, therefore, we calculated the ground strain parallel to the pipeline by using Aki-Larner Method, which can solve the ground response for arbitrary input ground mothion. The ground strain obtained is in good agreement with the value of experimental data at which the buckling begins to occur.