Large-scale field trial to explore landslide and pipeline interaction

AbstractOil–gas pipelines for natural gas transmission from West to East China will inevitably undergo landslide especially in Southwestern China. Studies on the interaction between landslides and pipelines, particularly on the stress and deformation laws for pipelines under the action of landslides, are of great importance. A large-scale landslide model with a prototype gas pipeline subjected to the same internal pressure as in operation, was constructed outdoors to test and monitor the stress and strain in the pipeline together with landslide deformation. It is concluded that the pipeline stresses change in close relation with the displacement of the landslide. The relationship can be described with an exponential function. The induced stress distribution and deformation along the pipeline is in the form of a saddle. The most critical stresses on the pipeline are concentrated on both sides of the landslide border and in the central part of the landslide. These results are helpful to provide technical support for numerical simulations and for pipeline design, construction and remediation