THREE-DIMENSIONAL DISTINCT ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF BURIED PIPELINES SUBJECTED TO STRIKE-SLIP FAULT DISPLACEMENT

Abstract

 Buried pipelines that intersect an active fault may be directly damaged by the movement of the fault. Since damage to buried pipes may have a significant impact on social activities, adequate countermeasures are desirable. This study conducted a distinct element method analysis to investigate the response of buried pipelines to lateral fault displacement. The distinct element method can handle the characteristics of the ground, which is a collection of granular materials, appropriately. An analytical model was set up with the intersection angle between the normal direction of the fault plane and the pipe axis set at 30 degrees. Two types of ground models, loose sand soil and dense sand soil, were analyzed with left-lateral and right-lateral fault displacements. From the results, it was confirmed that the numerical analysis using the distinct element method is useful for investigating the response of buried pipes subjected to lateral fault displacement.