Tunneling effects on jointed pipelines

Abstract

The problem of tunneling effects on existing jointed pipelines is studied using the boundary integral method. Normalized solutions to evaluate the maximum bending moments and rotations are presented. They depend on tunnel-induced ground settlements at pipeline level, relative soil–pipe stiffness, relative pipe-joint stiffness, and the location of the joints in relation to the tunnel centerline. A jointed pipeline generally experiences smaller bending moments than a continuous one owing to the joint rotation. The solutions indicate that there are certain cases where hinged systems result in greater bending moments than continuous ones. However, these cases rarely occur in reality.