Review of numerical approaches used in soil-pipe interaction analysis of water mains

Pipelines as infrastructure components are very vulnerable to geohazard-induced phenomena such as ground deformation, slopes failure and others. Understanding the fundamentals of soil-pipe interaction (SPI) is, therefore, essential for designing and assessing resilient pipeline systems. Numerical modelling is considered an effective tool for understanding SPI. However, a comprehensive review to discuss current research directions and prospective research opportunities is still unavailable. This review study thoroughly investigates the history of the existing numerical modelling techniques and analysis for SPI problems by surveying available online databases. In addition, the proposed data-based systematic review classifies the published documents according to different criteria, such as soil-pipe system-related parameters, environmental factors, and service life. Moreover, classifying the included publications helps effectively in identifying the research gaps. In order to make the numerical modelling of SPI more accurate, new research challenges are proposed by identifying the research gaps. This review paper serves as a useful reference for academics and practitioners to distinguish between various problem setups and numerical solutions in SPI research.