Background: Offshore lifelines (i.e., pipelines and cables) are usually vulnerable to seabed deformations induced by earthquake-triggered geohazards, such as submarine landslides, soil liquefaction, and tectonic faulting. Since the complete avoidance of all areas characterized by offshore geohazards is not always techno-economically feasible, optimal lifeline route selection is deemed necessary for the safety and serviceability of every such infrastructure, in order to minimize the risk of severe environmental and economic consequences. Objective: The current study presents a decision-support tool for the design of offshore high-pressure gas pipelines, capable of performing: (a) the assessment of submarine landslides along a possible pipeline route (i.e., impact force and landslide width), (b) the assessment of their potential impact on the pipeline (i.e., pipeline strains), and (c) the optimal pipeline route selection. Method: The advanced capabilities of GIS in lifeline optimal route selection are successfully combined with efficient (semi-)analytical models that realistically assess the response of offshore pipelines when subjected to axial or oblique loading conditions due to a submarine landslide. Results: The efficiency of the smart tool is presented through a case study of an offshore pipeline that is crossing potentially unstable slopes -under static and seismic conditions- in Adriatic Sea. Five alternative routings are proposed based on the adopted design criteria when crossing the seismically unstable slopes and zones characterized by steep inclination. Conclusions: Provided that sufficient and reliable data are available, the developed decision-support tool can be efficiently used for deriving the potentially optimal route of an offshore pipeline.
Large-scale lifelines in seismic-prone regions very frequently cross areas that are characterized by active tectonic faulting, as complete avoidance might be techno-economically unfeasible. The resulting Permanent Ground Displacements (PGDs) constitute a major threat to such critical infrastructure. The current study numerically investigates the crucial impact of soil deposits, which usually cover the ruptured bedrock, on the ground displacement profile and the kinematic distress of natural gas pipelines. For this purpose, a decoupled numerical methodology, based on Finite Element Method (FEM), is adopted and a detailed parametric investigation is performed for various fault and soil properties. Moreover, the advanced capabilities of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are utilized, aiming to facilitate the fast and reliable assessment of soil response and pipeline strains due to seismic faulting, replacing time-consuming FEM computations. An extensive sensitivity analysis is performed to select the optimal architecture and training algorithm of the employed ANNs for both the geotechnical and structural parts of the decoupled approach, with suitable input and target values related to bedrock offset, fault and soil properties, surface PGDs, and pipeline strains. The proposed ANN-based approach can be efficiently applied by practice engineers in seismic design and route optimization of natural gas pipelines.
Submarine lifelines (pipelines and cables) often cross areas characterized by earthquake-related geohazards (tectonic faulting, landslides and seabed liquefaction). Avoiding geologically hazardous areas increases the length (i.e., cost), whereas a potential crossing may detrimentally affect the structural performance of the infrastructure, requiring more sophisticated design approaches and/or more costly and probably impractical deep sea condition-mitigation measures. Under such adverse conditions, a cost-effective and resilient lifeline route is deemed necessary. The current paper presents a smart decision-support tool for the optimal route selection of submarine cables, assessing whether the proposed routing could effectively cross a (seismically) geologically hazardous area. The GIS-based tool is based on an efficient methodology that combines a least-cost path analysis with a multi-criteria decision method. Accordingly, several routes can be derived for user-defined scenarios, by assigning different weight factors in the adopted design criteria and hazards. When crossing fault zones, the problem of fault-cable intersection is quantitatively assessed in a realistic manner via advanced numerical models. The optimal route can be selected by considering the potential cable distress (i.e., exceedance of allowable cable strains). This tool can be efficiently implemented for deriving the optimal route of energy and telecommunication offshore cables, as it is described in the examined real case studies.
Onshore high - pressure gas pipelines constitute critical infrastructure that usually cross seismic - prone regions and are vulnerable to Permanent Ground Deformations (PGDs) due to active seismic faults. In design, it may not be feasible to avoid fault rupture areas due to various technical, economical and topographic reasons. Moreover, the presence of soil layers affects the PGDs resulting from a tectonic fault, which in turn may alter the seismic demand on the pipeline. The current study investigates numerically the impact of soft soil layers on the seismic kinematic distress of onshore gas pipelines. For this purpose, a decoupled numerical modeling approach is adopted, consisting of two separate finite - element models for the simulation of soil response and pipeline distress, respectively. Soil non - linearities are taken into account utilizing the Mohr - Coulomb constitutive model with isotropic strain softening. An extensive parametric analysis is performed considering different faulting mechanisms and fault dip angles, as well as soil geometry and mechanical properties. Consequently, the maximum absolute values of both tensile and compressive pipeline strains are correlated with the seismic intensity level (i.e., in terms of bedrock offset which is associated with earthquake magnitude via simple relationships). The paper concludes with a set of design charts and tables for the preliminary seismic design of onshore high - pressure gas pipelines. These charts and tables predict with reasonable accuracy pipeline deformations, in terms of strains, for different magnitude, fault type, dip angle, sand type, and varying overlying soil layer thickness.
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