Determination of Pipeline Damages during Earthquakes Considering Different Soil Formations

Abstract

It is necessary that infrastructure systems in urban areas remain functional, especially during various disasters. Drinking water should be provided without any disruption and waste water disposed without any adverse environmental and health effects. However in Turkey, infrastructure facilities and pipelines suffer heavy damages at every earthquake. Therefore, the damages that may occur during an earthquake should be taken into consideration when infrastructure pipelines are designed. These damages have been observed especially in recent earthquakes, such as 1992 Erzincan (Mw= 7.9), 1995 Dinar (Mw= 6.0), 1999 Kocaeli (Mw= 7.8), and 2011 Van (Mw= 7.2). In addition to soil properties, material properties of pipeline, soil-pipeline interactions, connection points and details of pipes play an important role when post-earthquake damages are analyzed. In this study, the displacements of infrastructure pipelines in areas of high earthquake risk are estimated through a numerical model to assess likely damages. Furthermore, the relationship between damage patterns and displacements of infrastructure systems after an earthquake is examined based on varying soil types and conditions.