Seismic Analysis of the Connections of Buried Segmented Pipes

Seismic analysis of buried pipes has been one study focus during the last decades, but the systematic seismic research of pipe connections, especially its relationship with the connected straight pipe, is nearly blank. On the basis, the influence of pipe connections on the joint deformations (JDs) of buried segmented pipes is analyzed in detail by considering different parameters, namely, connection shapes, ground conditions, pipe diameters, branch angles, seismic incident angles, and input ground motions. Moreover, an influence coefficient, which measures the influence of pipe connections on pipe JDs, is calculated. Results show that pipe connections can reduce the JDs of segmented pipes by 40%-50%. Furthermore, the JD is more sensitive to the connection shape, ground condition and pipe diameter than the incident angle and characteristics of seismic waves. An influence coefficient of 0.65 is recommended conservatively for the design of the buried segmented pipes.