Pipeline in dense sand subjected to tectonic deformation from normal or reverse faulting

Abstract The safety of fuel-carrying pipelines crossing a seismogenic fault that has the potential for large dislocation is of crucial importance to the environment. The paper studies parametrically the response of such operating pipelines to normal and reverse faulting, using an experimentally-validated finite element methodology. The experiments are performed in a split-box apparatus, with the numerical modeling mimicking faithfully its boundary conditions. To capture the physical reality, our analysis accounts for the axial displacement (elongation or shortening) of the pipeline due to the imposed large lateral (normal or reverse) displacements with suitable hybrid beam-on springs boundaries. The computed modes of failure include buckling and tensile rupture (necking), the occurrence of which depends on a number of parameters: the type of fault, the angle of faulting plane, and the internal pressure in the pipeline. The paper develops graphs appropriate for guiding the design and compares the findings with appropriate current code provisions.