Behavior of full-scale concrete segmented pipelines under permanent ground displacements

Abstract

Concrete pipelines are one of the most popular underground lifelines used for the transportation of water resources. Unfortunately, this critical infrastructure system remains vulnerable to ground displacements during seismic and landslide events. Ground displacements may induce significant bending, shear, and axial forces to concrete pipelines and eventually lead to joint failures. In order to understand and model the typical failure mechanisms of concrete segmented pipelines, large-scale experimentation is necessary to explore structural and soil-structure behavior during ground faulting. This paper reports on the experimentation of a reinforced concrete segmented concrete pipeline using the unique capabilities of the NEES Lifeline Experimental and Testing Facilities at Cornell University. Five segments of a full-scale commercial concrete pressure pipe (244 cm long and 37.5 cm diameter) are constructed as a segmented pipeline under a compacted granular soil in the facility test basin (13.4 m long and 3.6 m wide). Ground displacements are simulated through translation of half of the test basin. A dense array of sensors including LVDT's, strain gages, and load cells are installed along the length of the pipeline to measure the pipeline response while the ground is incrementally displaced. Accurate measures of pipeline displacements and strains are captured up to the compressive and flexural failure of the pipeline joints.