Pipeline Uplift Mechanisms using Finite Element Analysis Analyse des Mécanismes de Soulèvement de Pipelines par Eléments Finis

摘要

The proposed paper presents simulations of the soil behaviour during uplift displacement of a pipeline buried in very loose sand usingrnfinite elements.rnThe 2D finite element software Plaxis is used for this study. Sand densities analyses the range from loose to very loose sand (typicallyrna relative density between 0% and 20%). The strain softening behaviour expected for these densities is investigated using negativernvalues of the dilation angle ψ. This assumption is analysed by comparing simulation of classical undrained triaxial tests with actualrntest data from the literature.rnMechanisms of failure in drained conditions are investigated for uplift loading in both dilative and contractive soils and comparedrnwith a simplified uplift model. The potential for uplift by some inclined mechanism in contractive soils is then investigated.