Behaviors of Pipe-Soil Interaction on Unstable Slopes by Finite Element Simulation

Abstract

Pipe-soil interaction plays an important role to the pipe stress analysis subjected to soil movement due to slope instability and/or slope failure. As the soils / slopes begin to fail, a single pipe or a group of pipes buried inside failure zone will bear additional loads which frequently lead to overstress or buckling. To study this phenomena, a case study was carried out by modelling a group of pipes subjected to ground movement in lateral direction. ABAQUS, a finite element software was employed to establish a 3-D numerical model of pipe-soil interaction during landslide event. Discussions of the results of this analysis are presented by focusing on the behaviors of displacement and stress of the pipes due to slope failure. Based on the analysis results, the length of failure zone becomes the major cause of the location of maximum stress during slope failure, it should be assessed carefully.

Keywords

• abaqus
• finite element analysis
• numerical model
• pipe-soil interaction
• slope failure