Passive Seismic Protection of Building Piping Systems - A Review

Piping systems are typical nonstructural components of a building. Previous investigations have reported many cases that earthquake causes damages or failures of piping system, resulting in secondary disasters. Therefore, this paper conducts a survey of the seismic damage of the piping systems of buildings and then reviews the state-of-the-art of the passive seismic protection methods. This paper proposes to classify the building piping system into rigid connected pipes, flexible connected pipes and semi-rigid connected pipes. Typical seismic damages of building pipes are presented following this classification. Then, several current seismic protection methods (including constructional measures, seismic braces, damping techniques and base isolation methods) are discussed regarding the theoretical mechanism and feasibility. Furthermore, the state-of-the-art of the building piping system and the passive protection methods with application prospects are evaluated. Based on the review, the flexible piping systems are most commonly used in existing old buildings and are more vulnerable in earthquakes due to their high flexibility. New buildings prefer the rigid connections which tend to restrain the motion of the pipe. However, the excessive stiffness of the rigid connection may cause overlarge internal stresses in both the connection and the pipe. Semi-rigid piping systems have sufficient overall stiffness and a degree of local deform ability and thus have the best seismic performance. In future studies, more research should be devoted to propose and develop new dampers suitable for piping systems, which will improve the seismic safety of building piping systems.