Numerical Analysis of Buried Pipeline under Land Subsidence Action

Abstract

Buried pipelines operate in complex environments, where factors such as non-uniform soil settlement and corrosion from surrounding substances can alter their stress state, potentially leading to pipeline failure and subsequent accidents. To tackle these challenges, a finite element model was developed using ABAQUS to simulate the coupled pipe-soil interaction under ground subsidence conditions. With emphasis on the settlement behavior of an intact pipeline, numerical investigations were conducted to identify the threshold of pipe-soil coordinated deformation and to characterize the evolution of Mises stress distributions throughout the final settlement phase. Based on this, the Mises stress variations in the pipeline were compared at soil settlements of 0.22 m and 0.5 m. The findings reveal that the maximum Mises stress occurs in the vicinity of the settlement interface and moves progressively farther from this boundary as the degree of settlement increases, accompanied by an overall elevation in pipeline stress. On the left side of the interface, tensile stresses develop at the pipe crown, whereas on the right side, tension is observed at the pipe invert; in both cases, the tensile-side stresses remain consistently higher than their compressive counterparts. These findings can provide a basis for the protection of buried pipelines.