Olliff, Rolfe, Wijeyesekera, Reginold
Posters - Additional Information # 2001 Munich
Soil-pipe interaction studies generally recognise the significance of deformations in the pipe due to soil loading, but not differential ground and structure movements, which can induce excessive stress concentrations in the pipeline. Plastics pipes can suffer failure due to such movements, though their flexibility makes them less vulnerable than rigid pipes. This study examines the problems of interaction between pipelines and the surrounding soil medium, subjected to differential ground movement. A procedure for predicting pipeline settlements, based on strip foundation theory is presented, and a detailed analysis is made of failures encountered by a group of submarine plastics pipelines.