Finite element modeling for stress analysis of a buried pipeline under soil and traffic loads

Abstract

© 2016 IEEE. Due to the durability and sustainability, concrete pipes have been widely used in many water management systems. As they are buried underground, several factors such as soil and pipe properties, installation strategies, functional and external loads may involve in determining their failure and service life. In this study, we investigated the effects of such factors on the stress distribution of a buried pipeline. Our results suggest that buried depth, seismic and traffic loads are important determinants of the stress distribution. In addition to the latter, we demonstrated that weights, speeds and patterns of car size arrangement play their parts in causing variation of stress on the pipeline. With the same thickness, pipelines with a larger diameter may have a shorter service life than ones with a smaller diameter.