Rapid stress assessment of buried pipelines in mine subsidence regions

As part of the development application of a proposed mine plan, mining companies have to assess any potential mining-induced ground movement impact on surface infrastructure such as buried pipelines. Very often during the planning stage the mining company may not have the exact longwall layout. Sometimes, the utilities company may have future plans for new pipelines to be laid in the mine subsidence region where any future longwall mine plan is not known. Therefore, without carrying out a detailed assessment of what the mining impact might be on the pipeline, both the mining and utility companies may impose excessive constraints on the respective developments. This paper describes how this technical issue can be resolved using a rapid pipe stress assessment technique to understand how the predicted ground movement is going to affect the existing or proposed buried pipeline. An overview of this technique will be presented and examples of its application will be shown. The results of the assessment will enable the pipeline owner and mine planner to have an early insight of any potential impact, and thus the development process can be properly managed.